MACE
by JordynTaylor13
Summary: In the magical world of Remnant, team RWBY has their hands full when it comes to protecting Vale. So when a new threat, one just as evil as Cinder Fall comes into the picture, a new team must rise to fight for all of humanity. A farmer bent on adventure, a forgotten Faunus, an unnoticed child, and an outcast born to fight, are all that stand between civilians and a cold hard death.
1. Green Trailer Part 1

"Long ago, before Huntsmen, before Kingdoms and armies, long before even the discovery of Dust, just as mankind was taking its first steps out into Remnant to destroy the dark forces of Grimm that pushed them up against their gravestones, a strange and extrodinary event happened that changed the tides. While most of Remnant's people would say it was the discovery of Dust that gave mankind their wrath in hand, very few people know the story of a great and powerful warrior tribe that lit the light in the darkness and gave humans and Faunus the hope they needed to survive.

"It all began on a small island, one said to have sunk into the endless ocean so no one may ever find it. On this island, like many other places around the world, the fight to survive was never ending. Men were constantly put on guard just incase any wondering Grimm revealed themselves. And if they did, bless all the souls that would most definitely fall at their darkened forms.

"One day, as the group of survivors left their dead behind and marched onward, away from any other incoming threats, they seemed to leave behind a single man. Said man wasn't like any ordinary man though. This man had been blind since birth. He had only survived all these years by the caring and compassion of the head of defenses who had died in a previous attack not even a day ago.

"Alone and stranded with no idea where he was or what was around him, the man wondered on and on for hours. Those hours turned into days and those days quickly turned into a week. How he had survived, he didn't even know. He just kept walking, sheer will keeping him moving forward. By the end of those seven days though, the man was growing weak and soon found himself crawling across the ground in search for anything he could drink. He would take anything. Any kind of liquid at all.

"He was mere minutes from giving up when he found his hand sliding off the edge of something. He let out a cry of fear, feeling his whole entire body fall down with him. Wind rushed passed him as he braced himself for a darkness worse than what he constantly saw. But then, there was a loud splash.

"The man had his eyes shut the whole time even though he couldn't see anyway, but when he felt was coolness of water rush across his skin drenched in sweat, he let out a long sigh if relief underwater, sending bubbles up to the surface. Out of pure instincts, he brought his arms around and kicked with his legs to bring him up to the surface of the water. He broke it with ease, taking in a gasp of air which quickly filled his lungs. And then, he blinked.

"A swarm of color rushed through his vision as well as blinding light. 'Oh dear Remnant,' Was all this man could think. 'What in Grimm's name have I fallen in?' The man quickly shut his eyes, ducking back down under the water. He stayed there until he could no longer breathe, made sure he could stay no longer by waiting until his chest and lungs burned. He then shot out of the surface of the water, his eyes going wide at the world around him.

"He could see. He glanced down at the water he was floating in. It was just a small pond which reflected everything around it perfectly on the surface of it. He swam to the shore as quick as he could, his heart beat thudding inside his ears. When he got there, his back slammed into the muddy shore as he stared up at the sky, not even blinking or looking away for a second.

"He lifted his hand, slowly acting as if he were grabbing the sun as rays shot between his fingers and across his face. The beautiful blue and golden globe was more beautiful than he could ever imagine. After what felt like hours of looking around at everything, the man finally sat up. He glanced into the water, looked away, then quickly looked back at his reflection.

"He never knew how he looked, but he could very much remember hearing how his eyes were always a pure white. Now though, now they were the faintest shade of the lightest color of green. And his hair. He had always been told his hair was a dark brown. How could it of turned a dark shade of light green? He shook his head, quickly standing up. At the moment, he didn't want to know. He wanted to leave this place. He wanted to be there not another second. He looked around, quickly grabbing the edge of the drop he had fallen down and started to climb up. Little did he know that humanity was about to be changed by him.

"With his fall into the water, more came to him than just sight. He also gained something much more amazing. The once crippled man now had a power far beyond what anyone could imagine. On his way to find those who had left him behind, he encountered something which took him a few seconds to notice. It was a Grimm. An Ursa Major. The only reason it took him a few seconds to realize it was because he had pictured them to be much more terrifying.

"He stared up at the beast, giving a very faint smirk. 'And here I thought I was suppose to be afraid of you. You look nothing like the nightmares I have imagined.' The man mumbled before jumping back as the Ursa swung at him. With his eyesight always gone, the rest of his body was far more developed, but with his eyesight regained, he was a force to be reckoned with.

"As the Ursa charged at him, the man looked up with a faint smirk still there. He let one foot go back, sliding across the forest floor while he brought his arms up. He blinked, only once, before sprinting forward. If any human had been there to witness it, they would of been terrified of this man. As he blinked, his eyes changed to the blood red color of a Grimm's eyes. And that was it. The battle was over before it even began.

"Over the years, his name became well known. Well, his last name that is. No one needed to care about his first name. If you heard the name Monomane, you went running because that ment Grimm was around. It also ment Grimm were about to die. Monomane, a hero known to be able to slay Grimm with out even so much as a weapon. Perhaps there was still someone watching out for those on Remnant.

"Little did these people know though. All they believed was that Monomane was a warrior who could slay Grimm. It wasn't untill after Monomane had found a woman, one he could proudly say he loved, and had a son that the true extent of his gift was shown.

"Monomane's son, born with the same hair and eyes as his father, was being pushed around one day by and ignorant son of a merchant. Having had enough, Monomane's son clenched his fist, glaring deep into the eyes of the merchant's son and blinked. The merchant's son was several size bigger than the other boy, so when he came charging at him with a punch, he didn't even budge. A minute later, with heavy breathing, Monomane's son was standing of ther merchant boy with a bloody fist. Most notably though, the young kid's eyes were a dark crystal blue just like the others. He blinked, his eyes reverting back to the pale green before he bolted away.

"Apperently, anyone born with Monomane blood was given the same gift as the once blind man was given. They were able to mirror any attacker just by looking into their eyes. Only for a few minutes that is. Exceeding even three minutes would send a sharp and painful feeling through every single nerve in their eyes. That's when it began. A tribe, a very small tribe which grew into the Monomane Clan was slowly developing over the years. They were the sole protectors and defenders against Grimm. That was, untill Dust came along and other things.

"When Dust was finally found, the need for these great Mirrored-Eyed Warriors was becoming more scarce. People were being able to defend themselves. And to make things worse, the Silver-Eyed Warriors started popping up all over and then the Four Maidens and everything else. There was becoming no use for them anymore. So they slowly started to hide away, slipping into the shadows and never returning.

"And like all great heros with stories, they became nothing more than a legend scattered through time until it was forgotten." As a soft voice finished the story, a woman gave a yawn while stretching her arms out. She was sitting on a bed, the blanket being an extra thick olive color whool blanket. "There. Are you happy now, Elise? I told you your favorite story. Can you please sleep now?" She asked, looking down at the head of the bed where a small girl around the age of seven with dark brown hair was curled up and hugging a pillow in a camouflage onsie.

"Do I have to?" Elise Spruce let out in a whine, rolling around on the bed a bit. "I want to hear it again!" Her face lit up as she sat up. Her face covered in small little scratches and cuts just like her knees and elbows. "Please mama!"

With a long sigh, Eleanor Spruce stood up from the bed. "It's late. Much later than when I let you stay awake. If you don't sleep now," She crossed her arms. "I won't let you feed any animals tomorrow and you're grounded and not allowed to go hiking for a week."

Almost instantly, the small girl was under hee blanket with her eyes shut. "I'm asleep! Go away! You might wake me up!"

With a small chuckle, Elise's mother stepped out and quietly shut the door behind her. Almost immediately once again, Elise tossed her blankes off her and stood up.

"Cold. Cold. Cold." She mumbled as she walked across her bedroom floor to the window. She looked out, staring at the broken moon above and the beautiful night sky filled with stars. "I wonder what it would be like to be blind." She blinked a few times then shut her eyes with a grin. She turned on her heels before taking a few steps and letting out a scream. Her dark green eyes shooting open wide as she stared down at her pinky toe jammed into her nightstand.

"Elise!" She heard her mother snap as she jumped around with her foot in the air. She grumbled slightly before crawling into bed. It felt like she had lost her entire foot in one chop. She groaned more before curling up under her blanket.

"Mirrored eyes or not, I wouldn't want to walk around like that." She mumbled before shutting her eyes with a yawn, slowly drifting off to the sounds of insects and the wind from outside.


	2. Green Trailer Part 2

A few years later when Elise was several months into her sixteenth birthday, the world inside the Spruce Family farm could not have been any better. Inside the house, singing to herself was Eleanor. Well, if screeching was called singing, then Eleanor was definitely doing so. She was folding laundry and blankets while making sure the ash from their fire place did not blow into the newly cleaned living room. It was the beginning of spring which ment one thing, even for a family that lived off the grid from the rest of the world. Spring cleaning was a must.

Outside, on a driving lawn mower being powered by powdered Dust, a very large man sat in a grey hoodie and baggy jeans. His hair was a dirty blonde color which was clearly never combed since the day he was born. On the other hand though, he had a very fluffy beard and mustache that he could not be more proud of.

"Hey Elise!" He called out, stratching his beard before giving a long yawn while stretching his arms. "If I fall asleep while cutting the grass, don't tell your mother." He yawned again, leaning on the controls. "Crazy woman waking me up at five." He grumbled before shutting his eyes.

"Yeah, sure thing papa!" Elise responded as she drove a wooden pole into the ground to make a gate to keep chickens in.

"Love ya honey!" Klein Spruce shouted back to his daughter. Though he meant to be quiet, he was still rather loud. With that done, he let himself relax on the machine he was suppose to be working on and let himself fall asleep with ease. Klein, could sleep anywhere.

Elise rolled her eyes at him as she drove another stake into the ground with a grunt. Half an hour later, she was nailing the fencing against the new pen for the chickens her family would raise then butcher. Not without having more born and some eggs to cook with of course. She gave a smile at the thought. She loved it out here like this. Once she ushered a group of hens and roosters into their new home, she made her way to the barn where four horses were.

"Bet you guys are happy winter is over too. I know I am." She peaked over the wooden stalls they were each in, checking for anything that wasn't suppose to be there. "And it looks like papa cleaned your guys' places before I could." She crossed her arms with a faint pout. "Guess that means I just get more time with my Jelly Bean."

She turned around, grabbing a wood beam before hauling herself over a fence that kept a horse in. She hit the ground with a thud, her work boots already covered in mud so she didn't care much for what she landed in.

"How's my baby girl, huh?" She flipped her hair back behind her. Even though it was in a ponytail, it was a mess at the moment. She didn't even have to move as a horse's head rammed into her, pushing her back some followed by a nay. With a chuckle, Elise wrapped her arms around the massive head. "Guess you miss going for rides too." She ran her fingers through the golden mane before the head could lift up. She smiled smiled up at the beautiful beast in front of her.

Jelly Bean had came from a long line of hunting horses, her golden color though made her much easier to see so the owner did not have much of a use for her. Eleanor and Klein later learned that the owner was going to put her down so they both gladly bought the magnificent creature and gave it to Elise for her fifteenth birthday. Who needed a car or a huge party when you could have a horse made of gold all to yourself.

"You know," Elise started petting Jelly Bean's long nose softly. "I might be able to snatched you a few apple from the house soon. Mama's apple tree is blooming like crazy." The horse shook her head, stomping her foot at the same time. Elise just smiled more, running a hand down the neck. "I'll take that as a yes you would like that. But for now, I have to go finish cleaning a few things. I'll be back later." She smiled, jumping over the gate before rushing out.

A few hours later once she was finished, Elise's dark green tank top was drenched in sweat. She wiped her brow, looking over towards her father who was still sound asleep on the lawn mower. She gave a soft smile and chuckled before walking over.

"Hey papa..." Elise whispered very, very quietly. She wasn't even trying to wake him. "I finished everything and I'm going to go out. I'll bring you and mama back dinner." She smiled more as all he did was snore on and on. With out wasting a single second, she bolted for the back shed as quietly as she could.

Not even twenty minutes later, Elise was running through the woods as silent as a deer. She hadn't bothered with changing clothes. She just threw a camouflage jacket over her sweat stained shirt while adding a few pouches to her belt which held up her light brown cargo pants. At her back was an air-compressed marksman rifle she had built herself a few years ago. Sure it had a few dings and dents as well as scratches, but it worked like a charm. At her right side there was also a collapsible baton which was perfect for defending herself when she was younger and couldn't carry much weight.

Elise ran through the forest, her panting soft and almost silent. She needed a tree. A good tree. It took her a couple minutes before she found one and quickly jumped up, pulling herself up by some branches. Pulling the rifle from her back, she crouched down on the branch and leaned against the tree. Then she waited. Sat there still as could be and waited.

In the time that she spent there, any other human would of probably made a sound but she was as silent as an assassin. Her attention then snapped towards the sound of a branch snapping. In an instant, a dart was loaded into her weapon. This dart was something she vowed never to use on any other human being or Faunus so much as she lived. She held it up, looking through the scope just as a deer came into veiw.

She gave a smile as she saw a fawn, not very small so it wasn't too young but also not so big she couldn't carry it back home. It was a gorgeous animal. Small white spots still decorating its brown back.

She took a deep breath, her finger just barely touching the trigger. Slowly, she steadied her breathing and shut the eye which wasn't looking through the scope. She then proceeded to stick her tongue out as she started to aim. And then, she squeezed the trigger as gently as possible.

The dart struck the deer right in its neck, causing it to stumble back before looking where it had come from. Then it dropped as quick as one would normally run away. With a smile, Elise put her weapon across her back and slid down the tree before jumping off and onto the ground. She quickly ran over to her target, placing a hand on its neck to pull out the dart.

It wasn't poison. She would never use poison to kill an animal. Her father could hang her and skin her alive if she ever did. This dart was special which is why she only had one of them. The tip was much longer than a nornal dart, at least three times the size, and was sharp enough to go through bone even from a hundred feet away. Adding to that, there were several small and sharp claws all around it. This made hitting the deer's main artery as easy as milking a cow for her.

"Ohhh, you're going to taste so good." Elise licked her lips while running her fingers across the young animal. "Can't wait for papa to make jerky out of you and all that other good stuff. Mmmhhmmmm. Yes!" She smiled from ear to ear as she put the dart back into a pouch. "Now I just have to get you home." She gave a small sigh, still smiling though as she reached down and picked up the corpse over her shoulders with a heavy grunt. "Your going to taste so good!" She practically squealed as she started her way back home.

At the house, Klein rubbed the back of his head with a chuckle as Elise stood next to him with her prey, both standing on uncut grass. In front of them was Eleanor, her arms crossed while her blonde hair was pulled back in a neat ponytail. Her light brown eyes were glaring hotter than the sun.

"Klein," Eleanor growled as he rubbed the back of his head more. Elise just blinked innocently, looking up at her father before down at her catch for the day. "Did I not tell you to mow the lawn?" Her mother continued. "And then you let Elise go off and hunt with out you?"

"Y-Yes?" Klein tilted his head a bit, smiling ever so slightly. For someone who was over six feet tall with arms and legs as big as his head, he never argued at all.

Eleanor gave a very long sigh, shaking her head before pointing at the back. "Elise, take that near the shed to get it fixed up for tonight. So your FATHER can clean it and cut it nicely like he was suppose to do with the grass." Her eyes narorwed at him as he started to chuckle softly once again.

"Kay mama!" Elise quickly said, carrying the deer away as quick as she could. She wanted to be nowhere near her mother's fury when she exploded.

Once Elise was gone, Klein slowly looked over at his wife, his hand slowly leaving the back of his head. "You know, you re going to have to let go of her one day. She has already proven she can fend for herself."

Eleanor gave a sigh with a slow nod. "I know, I know. But if Grimm found its way here..." She trailed off and shook her head. "She's never seen one before. She might not nowhow to respond."

Her husband just smiled back at her. "She's a hunter. She has my blood coursing through her veins. She will live. She was born to fight and survive."

She rolled her eyes at him, her arms crossing. "I forbid if anyone has your blood in them. Because apperently it makes them lazy while sleeping and eating everything!"

He jumped back, scrambling towards the lawn mower. "I'll mow! I'll mow! I'm sorry! You woke me up so damn early!"

"Just hurry up and cut the grass so you can go skin tha deer!" She snapped at him, smiling softly before turning around and walking back inside the house.


	3. Red Trailer Part 1

Just off the west coast of Vale, on and Island known as Patch, in a small little run down house with wooden panels falling off and a broken front window, the sound of music was blaring from every inch and corner. Around it, several dead patches of grass as well as plastic cup after plastic cup along with a usual glass bottle either shattered or still with some liquid inside it. It was a Saturday night and for the local alcoholics, that only meant one thing. It was time to get as drunk as humanly possible.

On the inside of the house, the sound of music only intensified. Red solo cups were every, many of them still wet and reeking with the smell of liquor. Not only that, but the air was just as bad as the cups. If one wasn't use to it, the smell would make one gag until they threw up it was so bad. Everywhere an eye could see, there was a glass bottle spilling out or empty. Men and women were both screaming, dancing around like a bunch of bafoons. If the television hadn't of been broken weeks before, it would of definitely been broken tonight.

The host of this wild and crazy party was none other than Andrew Barq. Before he and his wife had gotten a divorce, he never even dared to smell alcohol. Afterwards though, the man who once always had his beard shaved and brown hair so dark it was almost black combed back and out of his face let it all grow out without so much as washing it. His hair became long, brittle, and so greasy he could fry and egg with it. Not to mention his beard which was so bristle like it hurt to even rub against it. He went from a fancy dress suit to nothing more than rags which he called his best clothes. But he always said that divorcing her was the best decesion he ever made. Either that or he is always extremely under the influence when asked.

While he and his wife had spent over ten years together, not including the time they spent as students at Beacon Academy, they did in fact have a child who was now thirteen years old. And that child, she could not completely despise Huntsmen and Huntresses more because of what she observed about them from just her parents. In her mind, every Huntsman was a drunken coward. And with tonight, that feeling just grew worse and worse. Mainly becsuse it was her weekend to spend with her father which meant one simple thing.

It meant that once again, young Kris Eve was sitting on a couch that was torn and stained with much more than just alcohol. She hated her father's place but no doubt hated her mother's far more. She would much rather live in a hole completely homeless than with either of them. Of course she loved them, they were still her parents and she would always love them no matter what, but both of them had a certain problem that bothered her more than anything. They never once listened to her and never ask how she feels about a subject. Neither of them could even tell her what her favorite color is.

Hearing the sound of people partying growing louder, Kris turned up the heavy metal rock music she was playing in her headphones from her scroll. She always had a pair of headphones or earbuds wrapped around her neck, more important than those though, she always had makeup on. Well, if she left her mother's house she had makeup on. She would spend hours every morning just to put mascara on before she left to go check the mail. To her, makeup was like a normal person's underwear. She felt completely naked and vanurable with out it.

With the voices and cheers overcoming her music even on its highest volume, Kris groaned heavily and brought her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them and hugging the dark green skinny jeans tight. Just a couple more hours and she could leave and go to another living nightmare.

Seeing people start to dance in front of her, even getting on the small coffee table which was also a mini fusball table, she let her right hand let go of her legs and go behind her back to pull up her black hood over her red hair. She tugged on it a bit more, making sure it went over her green eyes as she lowered her head into her legs.

"You know," Someone reached down, grabbing her headphones through her hood and pulled them off slightly. After burping, he continued to speak. "A place like this isn't a place for a kid."

Kris' head immediately snapped upward, her eyes narrowing at the man in front of her. Unlike the rest of the men and women here, at least he seemed to be holding his own. She growled softly, pulling her white and green headphones around her neck before flipping her hair back.

"Hey now," The man held his hands up in defense, holding a flask in a hand which had two rings on it. "I don't mean ya any harm." He sat down next to her, running a hand to push his black hair back and out of his face before flashing a smile. "You just seem lonely all alone here by yourself."

Kris hardened her glare before quickly looking away, her hands going to her headphones to put them back on. "Go away. I'd rather be alone than talk to you."

He blinked a little at her, tilting his head at the music blaring from her headphones. "You know, you'll go deaf like my niece if you keep listening to music that loud."

She growled, shutting her eyes as she started to pull them over her ears. "I said go away." She grumbled before growling as she felt her headphones sliding back down around her neck. "What?" She snapped, looking over at the man who was blinking at her, a single finger pushing her headphones down.

He quickly took his hand away, unscrewing the cap to his flask. "I said I was going to talk to you." He took a swig from it, gulping it down with satisfaction.

Her eyes narrowed at him, quickly looking away. "You never said that and I don't want to talk to a drunk idiot in the first place."

He chuckled softly as he put his flask away, leaning on his legs. "Not a fan of whiskey I guess." He then leaned back against the couch, stretching an arm across the back of the it. "Don't worry. You'll understand it one day."

"No I won't." She quickly spat back, slowly looking over at him. "All of you are stupid for drinking. All it does is create a terrible smell and make you act more stupid than usual." Her eyes were slowly starting to narrow as she spoke.

He just gave a faint smile, looking over as a group of people clapped several glass bottle together. "It does more than that." He looked over at Kris. "It's a way to numb the pain of life. When you grow up, you will understand. The world isn't as nice as you kids think it is. By being drunk," He glanced down at a few empty red cups. "It's a way to make all the stress and pain go away. With seeing the world and its darkest deeds, you have to find a way to cope with it. Sure, most people are strong enough to keep going with out needing to do anything, but some others need something to take so they can keep moving forward. We're not machines," He looked over at her with a smirk, his cross necklace flickering in the light. "We are only human and we'll make mistakes and fall. Bad things will happen. We just got to find a way to keep going." He reached behind him, taking out his flask and opening it. "This is the best way for me." He took another long sip from it.

Kris just stared at him blankly before growling softly. "Go away. You reek of whatever you're drinking."

He gave sigh, his shoulders dropping as he screwed the cap back on. "Damn, tough crowed." He mumbled just as Andrew popped his head into the room, swaying a bit as his hands held onto the edge of the wall.

"Yo! Qrow!" Andrew chuckled softly, trying not to stumble too much as he tried to stand completely still. "Perry is gonna eat a fish whole! Completely raw and everything! He didn't even cut its head off! Ya gotta come see this! Ya too, Christmas!" He said before stumbling forward then turning around and rushing back into the kitchen while bumping into things.

"Sure thing Andy!" Qrow called back before giving a smile and looking over at Kris. "So your name is Christmas, huh?"

With a grumble, Kris crossed her arms. "It's Kris. Call me Christmas again and I kick you where I shouldn't."

He chuckled as he stood up, stretching his arms. "You're a feisty little one." He took a few steps before looking back at her. "Well, are you going to come or what?"

She shook her head, her hands already going to grab her headphones. "No. Bad enough you people eat animals, but eating them raw is just worse and disgusting. I'd starve before I would even think about eating another living creature."

He blinked a little at her before shrugging, taking out his flask and walking away. "Suit yourself kid." He grinned a little, mumbling under his breath so she couldn't hear him. "Suit yourself Christmas."

She watched Qrow walk off, turning a corner and going into the kitchen. With a very heavy and deep sigh, Kris slid her headphones back over her ears. She then gave another sigh of relief at the sound of her favorite song while shutting her eyes as she pulled her hood back over her head and went back to hugging her legs. Just a couple more hours. That's all. Just a few more hours and she could leave these drunken fools for wealthy fools.


	4. Red Trailer Part 2

Thirty six hours later, just as the downstairs clock struck noon and chimed on a Monday afternoon, Kris groand heavily and rolled over in her bed. "Shut up." She mumbled under her breath as her eyes slowly opened. She stared at the ceiling covered in posters of rock bands for a moment before she sat up and rubbed her eyes gently. At the moment, her hair was making her head look twice as big it was so puffed out.

Letting her dark blue blanket fall off her, she smacked her tongue against the roof of her mouth a few times as she looked around her room. Even though she despised living in her mother's mansion, especially when there was thirty-two rooms all together, she completely loved her room.

It was a mess and she loved it that way. Clothing was sprawled out over the white carpet, posters covered each and every corner of the room, her bed was never made, a large speaker system was inside her closet where her clothes should have been with hundreds of CDs, and on a small dresser with a mirror was her makeup. Under her bed there was also several books on animals, not like she would let anyone see those though. Well, besides one person.

She gave a yawn as she swung her feet around, her bare feet curling against the warm bedroom floor. As Kris stood, she pulled the pair of white sweatpants she was wearing up a bit. Being the toothpick she was, she always had trouble keeping them on. As she stretched her arms, she noticed one of the straps on her red tank top was sliding down so she pulled it back up, staring at her shoulder blankly with sleepy eyes for a few moments before hearing the door being knocked on.

"Miss Eve, are you awake yet?" A calm and composed male voice asked as the knocking continued. "Your mother expects you down at lunch in fifteen minutes. Do tell me you're at least awake? Perhaps in proper clothes? Miss Eve? Dear?"

With a small grumble mixed with a sigh, Kris stomped towards her door and threw it open to stare up at the butler in a well dress tuxedo with a towl over his arm and a shaved head. She slowly turned her stare into a glare before crossing her arms with a pout.

"Uh huh." The butler nodded before raising an eyebrow at her clothes and hair. "I do not believe your mother would approve of this appearance for lunch with her friends."

"Well, too bad Perrywinkle." She put extra strain on each syllable. She turned on her heels, walking towards her mirror. "Besides, if she wants me down there, she'll be willing to wait. Not like she cares anyway." Her voice slowly got more quiet as Perrywinkle stepped inside her room, closing the door quietly.

He glanced back at it before lowering his arms with a sigh while looking at Kris. "Please, please don't make me sit through another one of her ranting sprees. It gets so hard to pretend to pay attention at times."

Kris gave a small smile, grabbing her brush as she started to comb her hair. "I'll at least make my head look nice. I'm staying in pajamas."

"At least put some slippers on, you'll catch a cold if not." His voice showed a slight concern in it.

She grumbled softly, wiggling her toes a bit. "Fine! Fine! But I'm going to be late."

He gave a long sigh, lowering his head a bit before shaking it slowly. "You know, if I was like a normal butler your mother hired-"

Kris cut him off with a small chuckle, looking over at him with her hair practically perfect. "Since when were you ever a normal butler?" She asked while grabbing a small bottle of mascara.

Perrywinkle gave a polite smile, shaking his head a bit more. "It was around four years ago." He started to pretend to think hard. "I believe," He tapped his chin. "It was the day before I met you." He smiled a bit more, holding up a hand as he caught a bottle of lipstick. "Speaking of being late to get her attention though, did she ever notice that you dyed your hair? Because she has not told me about it yet."

Kris gave a very long sigh, putting her eyeliner down on the dresser with a hand over it. Slowly her hand tightened around it as she looked into the mirror. "No, not yet." She tried to hide the hurt in her voice. "But if I am late AND blaring music from my headphones today, she's bound to notice me." She shot a smile towards him before opening a drawer, once again where her clothes should of been but instead it was completely stuffed with a tangled mess of headphones and earbuds. "Which color today?" She asked Perrywinkle.

"Hmmm." He tapped his chin a bit more, tilting his head slightly. "You had blue last time, correct?"

She gave him a nod.

"Alright, then how about a purple pair? I'm sure you have one of those." He looked over at her just as she pulled out a pair of purple and black headphones.

"Hopefully these are loud enough for her to hear." She mumbled as she slipped on a pair of slippers then grabbed her scroll. She quickly hooked up the headphones to them while looking up at her trusted butler. "Ready."

He gave her a soft smile before nodding as he regained his perfect posture and stepped out of the door. "Why are you waking up so late? Were you reading those books again?"

"Maybe. Maybe not." Kris responded as she crossed her arms. "Don't you have dishes to clean or something."

Perrywinkle gave her a smile, patting her on the back as they walked through the endless halls. "Try not to upset her too much, alright?"

"No promises." She said plainly just as she stepped into the large dinning room.

Kris slowly walked around the giant twenty foot long table, making sure each person she passed by could hear her music playing. She glanced up at the giant chandelier, the golden glow coming off of it making Kris feel sick to her stomach. Well, that and the smell of freshly cooked steak. She didn't care what her mother had made, all she knew was she could smell steak.

As she sat down to the right of her mother who sat at the head of the table, the woman with long blonde hair in a white dress with jewelry weighing down her neck didn't even bat an eye at her.

Seeing that, Kris just narrowed her eyes, bringing her legs up and sitting on them as she turned her music as high as it could go. All she wsnted was for her mother to look at her. Just look at her.

"You're forty-nine seconds late." Her mother, Glenis Eve, said with such a cold tone it was hard to tell she was talking to her daughter. While most didn't know of Glenis, they definitely knew of her sister who worked at Beacon Academy. While Glynda decided to take their mother's name, Goodwitch, Glenis wanted to take her father's which was Eve.

"Yea, so? I was doing a thing called sleeping." Kris spat back, moving her head forward some to make sure the music could be heard by her mother.

"You're late. That's it." Glenis didn't even look over at her, she didn't even look away from the dozen of female Huntresses, all from rich families, sitting down her table lined with a white clothe and the most precious silvers.

Kris growled softly, the went quiet as a plate of food was placed in front of her. She almost gagged at the smell, seeing both caviar and the steak she smelled earlier. While there was other things on the plate as well, those were the only two that bugged her. How many times did she have to tell her mother that she didn't eat meat!

So she shoved the plate forward, in front of her mother's as she began to eat, cutting her food up perfectly. When she didn't get a response from her, Kris spoke up.

"You know I am a vegetarian, don't you? What you are eating is disgusting and terrible. It was a living breathing creature at one point." She spat out, her voice growing loud enough for the rest of the table to hear.

"You are? Since when? This must just be one of those fazes." Glenis shook her head softly. "Teenagers."

Kris had to hold in her screams. The last time she had eaten anything containing meat was when she was seven years old. Over six years ago.

While the meal went on, running much more smoothly, Perrywinkle walked in to assist the others. Well, mainly to watch Kris for anything she might do or say to cause a scene. He didn't do a very well job considering what happened at the end of the meal.

"Excuse me, can I have your attention." Glenis stood up, picking up her glass and a spoon as she gently tapped against it. "I have a very important announcement." Kris just glared up at her mother as the room grew quiet and she contiuened. "As you know, Christmas, my daughter, is now thirteen years old."

"Kris." Her daughter corrected her in a grumble. The whole reason she changed her name was to get attention from her. Like everything else though, it didn't work.

"Which means, she is of age to start training to become a Huntress like her mother, all of you here and her sister." She set the cup and spoon down. "And after pulling several strings, I have gotten her a place in one of Vale's top combat schools, Initial. As you all know, I myself went to Initial for four years, gaining top of my class each and every semester."

As Glenis rambled on, Kris slowly started muting out it all. First of all, being around people like her father and people like her mother, hundreds of them, that thought made her stomach ache. Secone, this was the first she was hearing of this. And third...

Kris shot to her feet, slamming her fist on the table. "How many times must I tell you?" The whole room went dead silent as Perrywinkle gulped. "I. Don't. Want. To. Be. A. Huntress. I want to be a veterinarian who plays music on the side! Why is that so hard for you to comprehend? How stupid are you?"

As silence fell over once again, her mother didn't even flinch as she calmly sat back down. "Perrywinkle," She held her head up high. "Take Christmas to her room. If she isn't going to be polite in front of guests, she can stay up there." She batted her eyes just a little before scoffing. "You know, Christmas, Jessica would never have dared to act in such a way like this."

Kris' jaw tightened as she glared at her mother. Look. Look in the same direction. "I told you my name is Kris!" She snapped, her voice harsher than ever. "And she likes to be called Jess!"

"Come on," Perrywinkle held out his hand, a sorrowful look in his eyes. "Up to your room."

She gave a scream, pushing her chair onto the ground before stomping out and up to her room. Perrywinkle quickly following behind her. Once he got to her door, he stopped as it slammed shut in his face. He simply gave a sigh, leaning on it as he heard muffled cries coming from inside. He glanced around a bit, trying to door knob which was locked. He gave another sigh, placing his hand on the door before slowly walking off, leaving Kris alone in her room to cry and silently sob into her pillow.


	5. Brown Trailer Part 1

Out of Vale's Kingdom walls, in a small town where many Faunus moved to when they were too poor to live anywhere else, smiles of joy could still be seen on young children. No one, no matter what kinds of rags they wore or how they smelled, they smiled as they played games in a dark alley and drew on the sidewalk with rocks from a river. Sure, this city looked like it was made for criminals with its broken windows and abandoned buildings, but for many it was all they knew of. And for a young fifteen year old Faunus girl with rather small antlers named Cheyenne Aurora, the city of Natus was her home. Living there, it became a way of life.

Walking back home through the city late in the afternoon, Cheyenne found herself sweating from the hot sun beating down as she carried a carton of milk, a bag of apples, a loaf of bread, and a small box of cookies her mother could chew her out later for. They were on sale plus they were red velvet flavored, she couldn't pass that up though.

Still though, even with them being on sale, they were expensive. It was not like she disliked the people at the store, prices were just becoming more high and harder to pay for. At the moment, she was lienless and also owed the store owner a few little jobs to pay off the two lien she owed him from today's trip.

She couldn't help but groan softly at the heat. She had never once lived in a house with air conditioning, but this heat was killing her. Her white shirt which was torn in several places and covered in so much dirt and filth it almost looked the color of her light brown hair, had sweat stains all across her back. Though she could stand the smell of it, she hated the feel of the fabric sticking to her skin. She would ignore it though. Ignore it like all the other problems in her life so she could help her parents the best she could.

As she came to a small house on a corner, Cheyenne put all the groceries in one hand as she grabbed the door knob, turning it slowly so it wouldn't fall off before stepping inside.

"Hey dad!" She called out, shutting the door softly as she evened out the weight of groceries in her hands. "I'm home!" She went straight towards the kitchen, placing the food on the table before she started to put it away. "I also got you a surprise! If you hurry up I won't eat it all!"

As she gave a faint laugh, a deer Faunus with a broken right antler in his late thirties rolled into the kitchen in a wheel chair. He wore an old grey sweatshirt as well as a pair of black sweatpants with several holes patched up on them. Though his eyes showed sleepless nights from trying to get money sorted out, Theodore Aurora smile at his daughter kindly with an expression beckoning her to tell him what she had got while he blew some of his long dirty blonde bangs from his eyes.

Cheyenne just looked over at her father, her smile gleaming with joy as she sat down at the table. "Come here," She patted one end of the table before tapping something in a bag. "It's right in here."

With a fake sigh, Theodore rolled over, his calloused hands making the wheels turn with very little pain to his fingers. "What did you get that your mother will kill me for this time?"

She just smiled more, quickly pulling the small box of cookies out of the bag. "They were only a half a lien and I know how much you and mum like red velvet. Didn't you guys have a red velvet cake the day you got married?"

He have a small sigh at that, nodding slowly. In the end, a cake was all they could afford. No rings. No great feast. No party. There wasn't anything like that.

"Dad?" Cheyenne asked, her eyes going to her father's left hand and staring at the makeshift wedding ring she had made him. It was just a piece of glass she was able to make look like a diamond along with metal she found on the streets. It wasn't much, but it did look rather nice. She hade made one for her mother as well, just a little bit smaller and thinner. Being born poor, she had to quickly learn to make things out of what she had. "Sorry I brought up your wedding." She mumbled, looking down. He deserved a huge one in her mind. She really did wish she could of done something to give him a better wedding. A better anything really.

A second later, the sound of plastic crumbling was heard so she looked up, seeing her father opening the bag of cookies. He gave her a smile with a faint nod. "You're fine, Chey." He smiled a bit more before taking a small bite from the cookie he had taken. "Just eat them before your mother gets home and she strangles us both."

"She won't strangle us." She protested while taking a cookie, taking an even smaller bite than her father. "She'd probably hang us up by our antlers and skin us alive.'

Theodore rolled hia eyes, tossing half of the red velvet treat he was eating at her with a smile. "Oh don't be silly. She wouldn't skin us alive. She'd probably scoop out our eyeballs first and make soup with them."

"Nope." Cheyenne leaned forward, smiling more at her father as she handed him back the food he threw at her. "She'd pluck out every tooth and make a necklace out of them." She blinked and looked out the window. "Wonder if I could get Grimm teeth before they decay one day and make a necklace out of them."

He laughed a bit, taking another cookie while his daughter was still on her first. "I swear, you could make a space ship and design the first rocket to escape Remnant's atmosphere if we had the money to send you somewhere. You're beyond creative and smart." He took a bite.

She felt her face growing hot so she quickly looked down, moving some of her dirty hair behind her ear. When was the last time she took a shower? She brushed away the question and looked back up. "I'm not that smart. Plus, I don't think Atlas Scientists and I would get along all that well."

"Ah, well," He shrugged, taking his third cookie and stuffing it into his mouth. "You're still a very bright kid. You have a great future ahead of you." He mumbled as he chewed before swallowing.

Cheyenne would of respond with something along he lines explaining why she couldn't leave her disabled father, but just as she finished her first cookie and was about to, the sound of the door opening filled the silent home.

"Oh hell," Theodore moved away some. "Looks like your mother is back home early. Hopefully everything went," He paused for a second like it was hard to say. "Fine at work. Hurry up and hide the cookies Chey." He quickly rushed out as Cheyenne smiled and hid the cookies back inside the grocery bag before placing it under the table. It was then she heard a heavy thud mixed with a muffled female whimper. Her acute Faunus ears immediately picked it up and in a second, she was standing in the living room with wide eyes.

Cheyenne went complete stiff at the sight in front of her. Four rather large looking wolverine Faunus whom she had never seen before in her life, we all standing there with cold blooded looks in their eyes. The first one was standing over her father with his arms crossed and the second held her mother.

Poor Dakota Aurora. That's what they always say. A human who married a Faunus. She went from a nice home and middle class life to nothing more than a street rat who was constantly working two jobs, one of which the owners of the tavern made her wear the shortest skirt possible as she served food. Every day she would come home, her clothes slightly pulled off. But if it ment making money for the man and daughter she loved, she'd tie her blonde hair back and do it. Though, at the moment, she seemed to be grimacing at the blood leaking from her mouth while staring down at the blood stained fist by the Faunus that held her tightly.

"So your little daughter finally decided to show up for a little business meeting for once, huh?" The third and tallest one stepped towards Cheyenne who was too afraid to move. She then felt a hand grab her antlers. If anything, that was the one thing she hated. While her father's cries of no fell on deaf ears, Cheyenne gave a small growl which was rather weak.

"D-Don't touch my antlers!" She snapped in a loud timid voice as she reached her hands up to grab his. And then, there was pain. She had never been hit before, and to be honest, it hurt a lot less than she thought it would.

The first punch went straight to he stomach, knocking all the wind out of her as her body slowly lost all strength. The second was an uppercut the the jaw. The third and fourth were so fast the felt like one with a strike to the chest and then one square on the jaw.

As she stumbled back, spitting blood from her mouth, Theodore looked away and up at the intruder standing over him. His hands were gripping his chair so tight his knuckles were going white. "Stop it! She has nothing to do with this! I don't even owe him untill Saturday! That's three days from now!"

"Doesn't matter." The Faunus showed his teeth which were practically fangs. "Boss wants the lien now." He started to grin. "And you know the price for being late."

Theodore's eyes went wide as he glanced over to Dakota then back at him. "Please!" He was practically pulling himself from his seat. "She just got off work! And she's exhausted! She's still hurt from the last time!" His head then snapped to the side from a fist before that same hand grabbed the collar of his shirt and picked him out of his chair.

"Now you listen here," The brute narrowed his eyes, the blackness of them piercing any soul. "The boss wants his lien. You pay up. Or we take our bargaining chip." He tossed him down so harshly his chair rolled back before being stopped by the fourth. "And if your woman isn't up to the task. You have another." He eyed Cheyenne who was groaning softly in pain.

She waa so beyond confused. And not in a good way, it was in a very bad way. She knew her mother has it rough, but she never thought it was that rough. And her father, what kinds of things was he even involved in to keep them with enough lien to eat at least once a day. More than that though, for the first time in her life she felt completely and utterly scared for her life. "D-Dad." She whimpered out, his head snapping towards her before he glared up, trying to hard to stand.

"You can't take her! I still have three days!" He kept repeating himself before another punch to his face shut him up.

"Give us the lien," He motioned his head towards the door. "And you'll get her back." He turned on his heels and walked out as Cheyenne started to scream as she was pulled out.

"Cheyenne!" Theodore shouted at the top of his lungs before he was pushed out of his chair onto the ground.

"Pay up." The one holding Dakota gave her a firm slap in a place that made her cheeks turn red before she was thrown onto the floor next to Theodore.

This couldn't be happening. Not to her daughter. Dakota pushed herself up slowly, glaring at the fourth one leaving. "Give me," She took a heavy breath. "My daughter. Now." She then felt a boot strike under her chin, then her ribcage several times until all she could do was curl up on the ground coughing heavily.

The Faunus snarled, spitting on her before leaving the house. Even from inside, Theodore could hear his daughter's cries for help as she was thrown into a van and taken away. With tears in his eyes, he slowly crawled over to his wife with his arms.

"I'm sorry." Was all he could let out before breaking into a sob with Dakota's hand in his. His wife just stared up at him, slowly curling up next to him as she began to tremble. She was gone. Her only daughter, the one she did so much to help, the one she did anything for, was now gone and in the hands of the darkest and most cruel slave ring around Vale.

Cheyenne was gone.


	6. Brown Trailer Part 2

Two years later, Cheyenne would never forget Blake Belladonna and her partner Adam Taurus. The day she was taken from her home, mere seconds before she would of had her clothes torn off in the back of a van, a black figured appeared in the road and made the driver swerve and stop. A moment later, a red blade shot through the back doors.

She would never forget the disgusted look that they hid underneath their Grimm masks. If it hadn't of been for Blake, Adam had told her he would of killed them all. But instead, he just carried her back to a White Fang base while she cried the whole way there and Blake found her way to the rest of the Faunus unlucky enough to fall into positions like Cheyenne had and saved them as well, shutting down their whole operation.

They two had brought her to this place, trained her to fight, gave her an Atlas riffle which had been greatly modified for her special uses, but most importantly, they gave her a home where she could sleep peacefully at night and eat as much as she liked even though it was never more than a meal a day.

Of course, she thought about her parents every second, but with what had happened, she highly doubted that they were still alive. She felt she was better not knowing if they were or weren't. Because if they were and she found out, there would be no denying it. She should of been able to give them a much better life.

So she went on, training and learning with other Faunus who also had terrible lives and suffered like her in the past as well. But one thing always made them different. One thing made her and Blake different.

Both of them cared deeply for human lives still.

After Blake had snapped and finally left the violent group set on equality in a way that shatfered his soul, Adam went to Cheyenne, constantly breathing over her neck and wanting her to become his second. He wanted another Blake, one just as good, and Cheyenne couldn't handle the constant pressure that came with it. He needed someone he could call his own and love again, love in his own way, but Cheyenne would never be able to fill that role.

Plus, at the moment now, Cheyenne was going to have no more of that world she spent two years in. After today, she would be gone. Today was the biggest raid on a Dust shipment they had planned in a while and she had one job. One small job. Kill the drivers and take over the train while other Faunus took care of the rest of the so called problems brought with to protect the shipment from Atlas.

Cheyenne was standing ontop of the cockpit, her jaw clenched as she stared down. If she didn't take out the conductors, then this train would end up where it is headed and everyone on this train, everyone she spent the last two years with, they would all be put in jail. Or worse if they were taken in by the military.

What was she suppose to do? She could feel her insides twisting and turning. Deep down, she thought she was going to be extremely sick. She tried to weezle her way out of this job by talking to Adam, but that only achieved her seeing the angry and demanding side of him. Sometimes, she really did wonder if what Blake had told her about Adam being different a long time before was even true.

Cheyenne took a shaky breath, gripping the hatch with one hand aa the other held her riffle strap that held the weapon across her back. She could do this. She couldn't let her second family down. So she slowly opened the hatch, then stopped as she heard the sounds of the two men talking. One was going on about his wife while the other talked about his three kids. Neither of them had any idea of what was happening in the previous cars.

She felt her hand starting to shake as she quickly shut it, the hatch snapping closed. Both men glanced up at it, shrugging before going back to the controls. Soon enough, the train would make it to Vale with the dozens of criminals on board.

And while those Faunus would be caught and taken into custody, a certain deer Faunus would be sprinting away while hiding in the shadows of the city. She would do her best to not be seen until the light from the sun slowly faded into darkness.

While she didn't want to, Cheyenne had to steal apair of brown boots, a tan shirt, a white vest, and a white pair of shorts once night fell. She couldn't just keep walking around town in her White Fang uniform. That was madness. She was already insane enough to run from them. As always, they would find her. They would track her down, realize she wasn't actually taken into custody like the rest of her brothers because she betrayed them, and they would kill her. That was just how it went in a cult like the White Fang.

She just grimaced as she ran out of the clothing store, hearing the alarm go off. She could hear Adam's voice in her head calling her a damn idiot for doing what she was doing. But she just could not pretend she was fine with what the White Fang was doing. What she was doing. What he was doing. Of course, she believed in their cause and making society equal to both human and Faunus, but the way they had been taking care of things since the new leader took over, even though they were working, they were completely awful and inhumane. They were acting like the animals people thought they were.

And she could not play along with their twisted little game any longer. She wanted as far away as she possibly could from this group amd their actions even if they gave her a place. She didn't want to be kept on a chain and told what to do especially if that meant taking a life. But now, she was free from all that. Well, as free as she could ever possibly be.

Adam would probably snap farther down into his bottomless hole now that she was gone. He would most likely go back to obsessing over Blake and trying to find her. She just prayed whenever he did find Blake, or her, that he wouldn't be too harsh.

It didn't take long for her to run all the way into the Emerald Forest, quickly changing out of her dreaded uniform while putting on the new clothes. Cheyenne then started a fire, quickly tossing the uniform and mask into it. With all her training, she wasn't even panting at this moment. The White Fang really knew how to turn someone from the mess she was into a fighter for freedom and justice.

Cheyenne gave a sigh, sitting down by the fire as she stared down at the Ursa mask which slowly started to crack. This was the end of that era. She had gone from dirt poor to wanted criminal. She was going to do something with her life now and nothing was going to stop her. She just needed to find something she could do to try and make up for everything she had done. Or at least help those who were less fortunate like herself when she was younger.

With a small sigh, she pulled her riffle around to her front, staring at it. It was a solid black which reminded her way too much of the White Fang and the things she had witnessed. She set it aside before laying back with a faint grunt.

Perhaps she could redesign it with something. Or anything really. At the moment, all she had were the clothes on her back and her weapon. It was then Cheyenne heard the snapping of twigs which which made her freeze.

Slowly, she looked over to her right, her head rolling in the soft grass. In the midnight air she could faintly see a pair of red glowing eyes. She gulped as a bit as an Alpha Beowolf came into veiw from the golden flames from the fire.

"Oh no." Cheyenne mumbled softly, slowly reaching over for her riffle as she very cautiously stood up. Her eyes never averted from the beast and when it gave any sudden movements, she would completely freeze for several seconds. Sure, while living outside of the Kingdom walls from time to time she had learned how to fight and kill Grimm, but this was a practically ancient monster. It had lived hundreds of years and was smart and tactical when seeing prey.

She gulped softly, gripping her weapon tight as she took a step back. The Alpha Grimm showed it's teeth, the spikes on its back seemingly growing larger. It was then Cheyenne smiled slightly. If she could kill the creature of the night and take those pieces off it before it could decay, it would look awesome when she decorated her riffle with it. Plus, she needed some sort of protection and an Alpha Beowolf's armor had to be second to none that she knew of.

"Alright," She took a deep breath, still trembling slightly as she readied herself. "Come at me." The Grimm immediately charged at her with out the slightest hesitation.

Twenty minutes later, Cheyenne was panting softly while resting on her knees with her weapon on the ground in front of her. She couldn't help but smile though at the pile of claws, spikes, and the mask from the Beowolf. She knew she would be sore later on, but right now, she was going to sleep. And after she was well rested, she would use the left overs from the Grimm to make her her rifle look less criminal like as well as pads for her shoulders, forearms, and shins. It wouldn't be much, but it would be something. And as always, she would be thankful for it.


	7. Jade Trailer Part 1

The island of Vytal has a history of its own just as long as Remnant itself. While many know this island to be the marking place for the end of the Great War, very few people know of the mass culture and beliefs that started there.

Vytal was inhabited long before Kingdoms were built up. Being an island, there wasn't much Grimm roaming around. If it hadn't of been for that, the city built there would have been lost to the creatures of the night for its lack of boarders and walls to keep them out. It was definitely by chance that this land became a home for many travelers. One change to anything in its history and the island would have been lost and succumbed to failure like many other attempts with expansions or setting up the start of a Kingdom.

But as luck may have it, it grew and grew. The lights that brought about success never flicker nor did they ever fade. The island of Vytal was becoming a world of its own.

Before it became a symbol for peace once the Great War ended and a cease fire by all four Kingdoms was called on its soil, the place was already the most peaceful place on all of Remnant. Lien has never been used on its ground and most likely never will be. Even now the people born and raised there trade rather than spend to get things. They trade goods for goods, work for work, work for goods, or vice versa.

If you needed help, someone would aid you rather than just passing by and letting you go on about your business. This small island and its seven even smaller neighboring islands were built on the caring and compassion of others and everyone wanted to keep it that way. Most of the time that is.

Many Vytalians had never even seen a weapon either, aside from those who lived through the Great War who were either dead, didn't remember, or too old to tell the stories without getting winded. The mere thought of violence made some of their stomachs churn. Fighting was greatly looked down upon and for those who acted in such ways were shunned or considered a disgrace for years to come.

Even killing was against their belief. Animals were rarely killed for food, the main time being for the celebration of the Day of Peace in commemoration for the lives lost during the Great War and the end of all the bloodshed. That was the only time the people of Vytal as a whole would eat meat. Other days which they fished or hunted was on a birthday or any other kind of special day, other than that, they farmed and grew fruits. They literally lived off the land without harming anything. There wasn't over production to harm the environment and no one ever starved. If a homeless man was on the streets, he would most likely be brought in by a family and given a bowl of rice with a cup of warm tea.

The thing that mostly separate Vytal from the rest of Remnant was the technical aspects of it. While Mantle was busy giving the rest of the world the Cross Continental Transit system, the small forgotten island staid where it was. It wanted no part of these machines powered by Dust and the people full heartily agreed. Because with power, corruption grows darker. While others were creating businesses and buildings, Vytalians were farming with handmade plows in small homes built from hand. The world of Remnant was changing into an air conditioned zone while Vytal hid among the shadows, keeping an old forgotten language alive while teaching the true values of life and protecting peace as much as they could.

In a sense, Vytal was falling behind but in another way, it was far more advanced than any other Kingdom or landmass. Very few grew ill with homemade remedies and their healthy diet. No one ever starved with the kindness of others. Children laughed and went to school with lunches made by their mothers or fathers. Parents worked in the field and children were happy to help whenever they could. This island was the closest thing to perfection.

And then, Atlas soldiers stormed the place.

It wasn't anywhere near an act of war, it was a far cry from it. Mantle, being the advanced Kingdom it was, wanted more land for development and Vytal, even though it was closer to the Kingdom of Vale's boarders, was in the perfect position.

Not only that, Vytal's soil was filled with Dust crystals. If the people there wanted to, the could create a mining industry there and grow quite possibly into a small Mantle. Instead though, they kept Dust burried deep into the ground which nourished the plant growth and kept the land fertile and full of life. Atlas' scientist couldn't of disagreed more.

So the great general, James Ironwood, sent in several infantries of two hundred and fifty soldiers, each with a captain in command, to take over this island and use the land to his own advantages. He wanted to fully use the resources laid out in front of all the Vytalians which they, in his eyes, completely wasted. They could do so much with the Dust underneath the surface, yet they did absolutely nothing with it.

Now a days, there are soldiers posted on every dirt road. You can't even so much as go half an hour with out spotting someone in uniform. While most of the troops kept to their code, trying to peacefully get the people of Vytal to allow them to come in and mine the Dust and put outpost on the land, a few of them would abuse their power of authority. And while most of the people on the island kept to their culture that ran back thousands of years ago, letting the soldiers do as they please with no violence in retaliation, there was one girl who couldn't help but defy them more than any being on the planet.

"Kagami!" A woman's voice called out, breaking the peaceful sound of of birds singing in the distance. Even the crisp air seemed to stop its breeze as she spoke up.

Hearing her name being called, a young fourteen year old girl shifted underneath the thick and warm blanket she was under. It wasn't night time, it was actually early in the morning. And she wasn't in a bed, she was laying on several bales of straw. In fact, she was suppose to be sweeping out the shed she was napping inside at the moment.

"Kagami!" The voice snapped again, making the covered girl groan a little more while curling up. Just as she was about to drift off again, she yelped as she was pushed off the straw, the blanket being torn from her grasp.

Glaring down with her arms crossed and blanket over one arm, Midori, tossed a broom at Kagami. She then gave a smile, brushing a few loose strands of her green hair behind her ear. "Aren't you suppose to be doing your chores?" She asked calmly, once again running her fingers through her hair, this time over a highlight of a lighter shade of green.

"No?" Kagami sat up with a groan, the broom leaning over her chest as she rubbed her eyes and her pale jade hair fell around her face. She looked up, blinking a few times before going back and rubbing her eyes again with a yawn. "I'm suppose to be sleeping, mom."

With a faint chuckle, her mother knelt down in front of her, her long ponytail trailing into the floor as she did so. "Kagami?" She held out her arm, placing her hand on the mess of green on her daughter's head. "While your father is farming and I am cleaning the house, I thought I told you to clean out the shed and go get your father's ceramonial tea cup and some bread from town when you were done?"

With a groan, Kagami pulled back, patting down her hair and sticking out her tongue. "I was! I just was taking a small little nap. I don't see why dad's birthday is so special that the house has to be clean and he needs a spcial tea cup and bla bla bla." She let her head drop down with another groan.

Midori couldn't help but chuckle again as she stood up. She wasn't like normal woman on Vytal. While most mainly cleaned the house and cooked, she worked in fields as well. She especially loved delivering fruits across the water in a boat to the smaller neighboring islands. That, and she didn't dress like the rest of them. Many wore dresses or skirts, but she always had on a pair of black pants that showed her curves, what most people outside of Vytal's boarders would call a bra with green trimming on the sides and cloth wrapped up around her arms and underneath her top around her chest to allow her stomach to show. And when it wasn't dirty, she would wear a green scarf tied across her waist.

She was beautiful, there was no denying that. Even without makeup, which no Vytalian ever used let alone heard of, she was stunning. Her eyelashes were as long as the ocean was deep. Her eyes constantly sparked with stars in a pale green sky. Her skin, though extremely white for all the time she spent outside, was as soft as a rock smoothed down by water for several years. She was skinny, yet it was a stunning type of skinny. She looked frail and weak but in reality, she could lift as much as a man any day. Midori, looked like a goddess. There was no other way to put it.

"Kagami, it's tradition. He is turning half a century old today." She started, about to go on but she was cut off from her daughter who looked up.

"Well why's he so old then? All the kids at school think he's my grandpa. It's embarrassing when I have to tell them he's my dad." She slowly looked back down, staring at the broom and dirty floor she was sitting on.

"Kagami." Her mother said again, her eyes narrowing a little before softening up. "Please, clean up in here and then go get what I asked?" She turned on her heels as she started to walk out, her hips swaying. "And if you behave for once," She glanced back. "And not aggrivate those soldiers in town, I have a surprise for you."

"A... surprise?" She blinked a few times, looking back up as her mother walked out. "For me? What kind of surprise?" She started to smile, jumping up to her feet with glee on her face.

"I'll tell you when you's done with your chorse." Midori said again before disappearing from Kagami's sight.

With a deep and heavy groan, said child stuck out her tongue at the door before she started to sweep. She grumbled a bit, her head sinking down. "Stupid Atlas soldiers always start it though." She mumbled to herself. "Before they showed up, Grimm didn't even come and try to attack us. Now they are all over." She took a deep breath before letting out a sigh mixed with a groan.

It wouldn't take her long to sweep, and if she ran to town, perhaps she could make it back in time and take another nap. Even with her mother's special sleeping tea, she always had trouble going to sleep and staying asleep which made her constantly tired and exhausted.

For now though, she had to do her work. As much as she didn't want to, she would do it. It was how she was raised. Of course she was the laziest person in all of history, but if she wanted to, she could work like a machine with its off switch broken.


	8. Jade Trailer Part 2

A while later, well, a rather long while later, just as the sun hit its highest point in the sky and not single speck of white tampered with the bright blue surrounding it, Kagami was bolting down the dirt road in front of her. With every step she took, her wooden sandels clapped against the ground in a fast rythm that couldn't be broken.

"I'm late! I'm late! I'm late!" She snapped at herself, holding a bag of large red apples in her arms. She stumbled a little as she turned a corner, her long messy green hair flying all around her. She just had to put her head down and rest for five minutes. Well those five minutes turned into several hours.

She slowed down just as she came to a large fire pit on a corner. In front of the burning embers and smoke that rose up slowly, a wooden stand with bread stood with an elderly woman sitting in a rocking chair behind it.

"Madame Gure!" Kagami shouted, stumbling up to the woman. She gently set the apples down before putting her hands on her knees with heavy panting. "I... have... mom... bla..." She inhaled as deep as she could, standing up straight. She let the air slowly release from her lungs as she pushed some hair behind her small ears. She went to speak only to have Gure's grey eyes open up wide and stare at her.

"You're late." She spat out, her eyes narrowing a bit as she leaned forward. Her chair creeked just a bit from the change in position and different weight distrabution before it went silent again.

Kagami gave a faint chuckle, smiling wide as she rubbed the back of her head with her eyes shut. Her pale skin made her light brown clothes seem like they were the darkest color ever. "Yea, I know. But I brought you two extra apples!" She reached down, picking up the sack of apples and holding it out. "Two extra apples and you don't tell mom about this."

In an instant, the heaviness in Kagami's arms vanished as the old woman in grey started to dig through the red fruits. She began to pull a few out, sniffing and licking them. While Kagami stood there, a smile slowly forming, Gure munched down on one. The sound of teeth tearing into the skin followed by a crisp chop only made Kagami smile more.

"You're pardoned." She munbled with a mouth full. With the apple in hand, she pointed back to the blazing embers. "On the right, your mother's pots, bowls, and all that is fired and done." She took another bite of the apple. "And her bread she asked for is wrapped up in the cloth from the apples she gave me before."

Gure, as most people from Vytal would say, even though she was up in her age, was known as the on and only Fire Lady. Anything you wanted to be done with blazing heat, she was the go to person. She had been doing it for as long as she could remember. Her mother had taught her, who's mother had taught her and so on. The ways of fire were passed down in her family for generation. And always in this exact spot. The only problem was that she was never able to bare a child herself.

"Thanks, Madame Gure." Kagami skipped around the stand. "But all mom wants right now is dad's tea cup and the bread. I'll come back for the other stuff later." She flashed a smile, looking back at the woman as she starting eating yet another apple. "Don't you be trading her stuff. She nearly cried when you accidentally gave one of her tea pots away."

"Oh don't you worry." She waved her off. "I'm not that old yet." She blinked a few times, smiling as she tapped her chin. "Or maybe I am?" She looked over at Kagami, leaning back in her chair as it squeaked. "I don't particularly remember what I put in the bread your mother asked for."

With a faint chuckle, the young girl walked back towards the stand. In her right hand she held a small pottery cup which had perfection screaming from it. Her other hand held a loaf of bread, gently wrapped up in a brown cloth that hugged it.

"Well, I guess if I don't wake up from poison tomorrow, I'll know who to blame." She started to walk away as the older woman gave a soft laugh. She then glanced back. "Later Madame Gure!"

"Take care, Kagami!" Gure waved at her, smiling gently as she finished her second apple.

That was how days normally went on Vytal. Happy people with friendly conversation. Kagami loved it. Everyone was always so nice and caring.

It was a shame all those smiling memories were about to be torn away.

The young girl froze, blinking a few times as she heard a loud thud coming from behind her. As she glanced back, she saw the one thing she couldn't care less for.

An Atlas soldier was leaning onto Gure's bread stand, swaying a bit from side to side. By the looks and the smell of it, it was completely obvious the man had been drinking something that intoxicated him. Even if it was used as a drink on Vytal, Kagami could tell what liquor smelled like from the years she spent watching these intruders.

"Ya know," The man let out a loud burp, leaning closer towards the old woman who simply scooted away. "General Jim really likes this spot. It's in the center of the whole damn island." He gave a weak chuckle, coughing a bit as he trailed off. "Bet I'd get a good raise if I got ya to hand it over. I'm sick and tired of this stinkin' private rank." He started to nudge a piece of bread. "So why don't ya just move right along?"

Gure narrowed her eyes a little, gulping faintly. "I have worked here my entire life. You cannot just take it from me."

"Like hell I can't." His eyes narrowed as he gripped the edge of the wood. "You either move yourself, or I move ya!" He snapped, only to freeze and look over at the jade haired girl setting the cup and bread down.

"Why don't you pick on someone your own size?" She could be scolded later, but Kagami wasn't about to watch these so called men terrorize her people. Even if she felt like an outcast around them, she loved them. She wasn't going to stand for this any longer.

The soldier smirked, standing up straight as he stunbled towards her. "And what's a little skinny thing like yourself gonna do-" He stopped himself, givig off a loud groan as he dropped down to his knees. Both his hands were cupped around his crotch as he hunched over.

Kagami was breathing heavy as she stumbled back. What did she just do? She just kicked someone as hard as she could. Her eyes slowly went wide as she glanced up at Gure who was staring back with just as wide eyes and a hand over her mouth. As she started to slowly back away, the soldier stood up with a deep groan.

"Why you little..." He flashed his teeth, glaring with one eye shut. Anger was boiling up inside him, on the verge of exploding. Unluckily for Kagami, just seeing her flicked the switch that set off the explosion inside him.

As Kagami looked away from the elderly woman who was now running as fast as she could away, she felt a armored covered fist drive right under her chin. She groaned heavily and shut her eyes, tasting iron in her mouth as she landed on her back with a grunt. When her eyes opened again, she gave off a scream as a boot came crashing down onto her stomach. As it was lifted away, she rolled over onto her side and curled up. She coughed heavily, both her arms wrapping around her stomach tight.

"You'll pay for that. Ya little bitch." The soldier mumbled as Kagami heard the sound of a sword being drawn. A second later, she felt pain far beyond what she ever imagined.

With the first slash, it took her a second or two to realize that metal had just cut into the skin on her back. After that, she cried out and rolled onto her stomach. She went to push herself up, feeling the blade glide across her skin like a knife through melted butter. She let out a piercing scream, her head slamming into the ground as she felt tears streaming down her face.

The third of fourth swipe of the sword were even worse. All she could do both times was let out a pained cry. With the fifth, she started to whimper like a cowaring dog who had just been hit for doing something wrong. She started to move her arms forward, her hands trembling like made as she tried to crawl away.

She stopped quickly though as she felt another deep gash form across her back. Her body just laid there, shaking terribly as she started to sob. At the moment, she just wished she would die. This feeling, this terrible pain that wouldn't go away, she couldn't take it. She felt the blade cut across her skin once more then heard the rushing of footsteps followed by the sound of metal punching metal.

"What in Remnant's name are you doing, private?!" A female voice snapped, slightly winded. As Kagami slowly moved her head to look up, her vision blurred from tears, she saw a woman soldier with long orange hair.

"C-Captain Caesar," The soldier mumbled, his hand over his now cracked helmet. "She attacked first. I was teachin' her a lesson and-" He was cut off, Julia Caesar's fist slamming into his helmet again, causing another crack.

"You reek of alcohol, private!" She snapped, grabbing his sword and taking it as she shoved him away. "We are here to get these people to cooperate, not torture them!" Her jaw clenched. "And I am not having scum like you under my watch!" She pointed away. "Now get out of my sight, civilian." She spat out the last word as the he stumbled away.

She glared at him as he slowly vanished. Afterwards, she quickly looked down at Kagami, holding out a hand. "Hey kid, you alright?" She started to fade from Kagami's sight. "Kid..." Her voice trailed off as everything went black.

A little over a day later, Kagami's eyes slowly started to flutter open. She groaned heavily, placing her palms face down as she went to push herself up. She then stopped, feeling a hand on her head.

"Shhh," Midori's gentle voice filled the silent room which was scented with candles. "Just relax." By the sound of it, even though it was soft and caring, Kagami could tell that her mother was exhausted.

"Mom..." Kagami groaned out, once again trying to move but unable to do so. Her body was burning everywhere.

"Shhh." Her mother repeated, looking into her daughter's eyes with great worry. "I know, it hurts. Just bare through it." She ran her fingers through the light green and wavy hair of her daughter's. "It'll be over soon. I promise. I put some cream on it to numb the pain."

"But... mom..." She groaned again, pushing her face into her bed as her mother cupped her cheek, slowly rubbing her thumb across her face.

"Shhh, Kagami, shhh." Midori slowly pulled her hand away as it trailed down Kagami's arm amd gripped her hand. "You need your rest. Now."

"But... mom..." Her hand slowly started to grip her mother's weakly. "I... kicked... him..."

With a sigh, she nodded back. "I know. And I know it hurts really bad right now. Swords can sting pretty badly." She mumbled, gripping her daughter's hand tighter.

"He... Madame... Gure..." She gulped, clenching her eyes shut tight.

"I know sweetie." Mirdori gulped back, pulling her hand away. "You're a fighter. You were born a fighter. You can't sit back and watch something injust. It's just who you are."

Kagami let out a small groan, slowly opening her eyes to stare at her mother. "I... kicked... him... what... what... happens... now...?" He took her forever to speak. She even got winded just trying to say that one sentence.

"You can't stay here." Her mother spoke quickly before going into a much softer tone. "For you're safety... you can't stay. Those soldiers will only cause you more trouble and the people here will treat you like you don't exist. Your father has already forbidden himself from even coming into your presence." She took a deep breath, sighing as her shoulders dropped. "You have to leave."

She blinked slowly before trying to push herself up, failing completely. "I-I can't... leave... you..." She groaned again, her eyes swelling with tears from fear and pain.

"You have to." She repeated. "For your safety." Her voice began to crack as she choked down tears. "If you... if you won't, I'll make you. You would be better off in Vale. Even if I never see you again... you would be safer there."

"Mom..." She trailed off, feeling her mother's hand press against her cheek and rub it. "I won't..."

"You will." Midori pulled back, reaching down to grab something off the floor. "And since now couldn't be a worse time..." She held up what people not born on Vytal would call a hoodie. A dark green hoodie with a strange white circle on the back filled with markings on the inside. "My mother gave me this when I was younger. It's your's now." She folded it up, placing it next to Kagami's head. "It will keep you warm in the coldest conditions and also keep you cool in the burning sun. It's also very durable." She smiled, struggling to keep the tears from falling down her face. "Now rest. When your wounds are healed, you are leaving. Without me. I have duties here I have to keep to."

"No..." Kagami tried to move again, wincing in pain. "I... I won't... leave... y-you..."

"But you will." She stood up, turning away. "It's for the better Kagami. I'll explain why when you are just a little better. Just rest for now. And remember... you were born a fighter."

"But... mom..." She groaned again, her body giving out as she laid on her bed.

"I will force you if I have to. You can't swim. I will put you on a boat without a paddle, and push you off towards Vale." Her jaw clenched as she wiped her eyes. "I've seen you holding out your hand to the slim part of the land that you can see from here. I know you want to go there. And... you will." Her voice cracked again as she walked out, Kagami's vision fading.


	9. Far Away From Home

Several seasons later, in the top of a tower filled with gears that turned to make ticking and tinking sounds, the headmaster of Beacon sat at his desk looking through new applications into his school for the coming year. One in particular caught his eyes.

Pushing up his classes, Professor Ozpin set down his scroll flat on his desk. "Hmm." Was all he let out, reaching over and grabbing a mug by the handle. As he brought it towards his face, his other hand cupped around the white ceramic piece with Beacon's duel axe symbol on it. He inhaled deeply, taking in the smell of the melted marshmallows in his hot chocolate before taking a sip of it.

After a moment of holding the warm drink, he set it back down. He leaned forward, placing his elbows on his desk as he held his hands together. As his brown eyes narrowed, his shoulders tensed a little as he began to drum his right hand fingers across the back of his left hand.

"Glynda?" He looked over at his assistant who was always by his side, even if she was silent most of the time. Unless something needed to be discussed that is. And at this moment, there was definitely something that needed to be.

"Sir?" The blonde Huntress in purple turned to look at him, her hands which held her scroll up slowly lowering down to her waist.

Ozpin looked away, his head turning back towards his own scroll. "What do you think of... Elise Spruce?" He looked away from the application which was filled out in a rather special way and up at her.

"Miss Spruce," Glynda paused for a moment, glancing back down at her scroll. "Well, she certainly has her heart in the right place. I am not so sure if she is ready though. Or if she even knows what she is doing." She gave off an annoyed groan, revwieng over Elise's request. "Underneath special skills, she put that she can carry a three hundred pound deer over her shoulders through rough forest terrain for several miles." She looked over at him as he gave a half amused smile.

"At least she is strong an has a fair amount of endurance." He looked back down at his scroll, gripping his hands together a little tighter. "And let us not forget how she is able to sleep anywhere and has a health problem relating to her addiction to tea."

Glynda rolled her eyes, swiping her finger across her scroll. "She has also never met a Grimm before. She has not even been to a combat school. She has grown up on a farm and nothing more."

"She's hunted though. And according to her, she never misses. Her aim is so accurate that she could shoot the wings off a fly from a mile away." Ozpin looked over, leaning back in his chair with a small sigh.

"Sir, all do respect, but that is impossible." The Huntress closed her scroll, holding it at her side. "Even the best make mistakes and slip up."

He gave a faint amused chuckle, lowering his head as his eyes shut. "Indeed." He gave a faint smile. "But perhaps all she needs is someome to guide her. She has the want and definitely the pride in herself for the job. Perhaps a little too much pride though." His eyes narrowed as he leaned forward again.

Ozpin swipped his hand just as Glynda rolled her eyes. He had made many mistakes in his life, more than she could ever count. So even if she disagreed with most of the decisions he made, she would stand by them and support him as well as she could.

A while later, as the school year was set to begin in a day, an airship was flying across the city of Vale towards Beacon Academy. On said craft, several will be students had their hands over their ears as a brunet bounced around on the inside and pointed out the windows at several different thinsgs.

"Oh my Oum! Oh my Oum! Oh my Oum!" Elise squealed as she pressed her face up against a window with her palms braced against the glass. "We're so high up! I haven't even climbed a mountain this high before! This is just so amazing!" She pushed herself up, suddenly sitting on a boy's shoulders to get a better veiw outside.

"Do you see this!?" Her dark brown cargo pants wrapped around his neck as she squeezed her legs. "It's so pretty!" Her camouflage covered arms wrapped around his eyes. "I mean the buildings are ugly but ahhh!" She squealed, jumping off him as he fell to his knees, coughing and gasping for air.

She bolted to the door as the ship started to dock. The moment she could fit through the crack between the doors, she sprinted across the bridge to the school grounds.

"So cool! So cool! So cool!" She shouted. In an instant, she was suddenly at the front of the academy on the Beacon statue. She wrapped her legs around the arm of the Huntsman holding the sword, hanging upside down as she stared at the Huntress with a double sided axe. She put her hands on the cliff of the statue, moving her body to look down at the creature of Grimm below. "You don't look that scary. You're not even bigger than the biggest deer I've shot." She mumbled to herself before swinging up and sitting on the soldiers of the stone man with a cry of victory and one fist up in the air.

Both new students and returning ones all stopped and stared for a few moments, each laughing quietly with a smile before continuing on. Not that Elise took notice of them. She was too happy and excited to even care. They were lucky she didn't notice though. If she had heard even just one rude remark about herself, whichever person it was, they would end up at the bottom of the lake in front of Beacon.

In the corner of her eye, the young girl suddenly caught a glimpse of a pair of deer antlers. "Mine!" She shouted, her riffle already flung out and held in her hands. A second later, she grinned, squeezing the trigger softly.

An extremely loud yelp shot through the air, making Elise lower her riffle and blink several times.

On the other side of the statue, a light brown haired deer Faunus held up her hand, taking a step back. With wide eyes, she shut them. A prick went through her palm, her aura protecting her from any harm from that. Then, the metal dart turned straight to rust. It went into a red powder, blowing across her arm and through her hair and face. With heavy breathing, she lowered her arm as her eyes opened. "Jeez..." She let out, trailing off. Every nerve in her body was screaming as she trembled ever so slightly.

"Hey!" Elise snapped, jumping down with narrowed eyes. "That was my dart! Do you know how hard that is to make!? What did you do to it!?"

The Faunus in a white vest over a tan shirt with white shorts and brown boots she was yelling at blinked and slowly raised an eyebrow, a look of confusion coming over her face. "You... shot me first." She spoke very hushly, her left hand grabbing her upper right forearm.

"B-But you broke it! You turned it to dust!" She flailed her arms back at her. "That was one of my special deer hunting ones!"

"Uh..." She blinked, her eyes going up to look at her antlers before she looked at Elise. Her head tilted slightly as she gripped her arm a little tighter. "Do you... nevermind." She shook her head slightly, about to walk away.

"Nevermind!" Elise shook her arms around much faster. "Who do you think you are!? Telling me nevermind!"

"Ch-Cheyenne Aurora." She mumbled, taking a small step away while point up at her antlers. "A deer Faunus." She put extra emphasis on the word deer. Not like it helped much.

"You still ruined one of my best darts!" She shot back, throwing her arms down with a groan. "How am I suppose to get dinner now!? Several deer surround me sometimes and I need all the darts I can get!"

Cheyenne blinked several more times, glancing up at her antlers before giving another sigh. "Nevermind..." She let out again, slowly lowering her head as she started to walk away.

Elise stayed standing where she was for a few moments, tilting her head before crossing her arms with a small scoff. "Wonder what her problem is. She's the one who broke my stuff." She looked at the ground, kicking the red powder at her feet. She gave a long sigh before her head shot up.

She smiled from ear to ear suddenly. In an instant, she was holding another female student's shoulders and shaking her like crazy. "I made a friend! That wasn't so hard! Cheyenne Aur-something! I made an actual friend! Mama said it might be hard but it wasn't!" As the student's eyes turned to swirls, Elise started to think of how she left home to come all the way here.

To her, it was funny how a week ago she was back at her house on her family farm. It was a perfect day like usual. And then they got word she would get to go to Beacon. Her mother freaked out the worse by far. She may or may not of been a little too over protective in Elise's eyes. Her father though, he couldn't of been more happy. More food for him to eat that is. He had given her the camouflage jacket he always wore when hunting as well forearm and shin padding that was harder than steel. Of course she wanted to take her horse, Jelly Bean, with her, but that was the last thing she dared to ask for when she received her mother's response. And now she was here, standing in front of Beacon Academy as a student, as a Huntress in training.

Elise squeled, dropping the person she held before bolting off. She had no clue where she was going at the moment nor did she care where she was going. She was here. That was all that mattered. The types of adventures that would be in store for her were unimaginable. She was going to have the time of her life here. She was going to make sure of that.

Little did she know though of everything Remnant had in store for her.


	10. Reaching For The Sky

Remnant itself works in a very strange way. The existence of Grimm is a mystery, legends and stories of magic are actually real even if the world doesn't believe, and most importantly, this unique planet filled with Dust has a way of pulling people together who are bounded by fate.

Expecially when it comes to building teams made of Huntsmen and Huntresses.

After the information meeting given by Ozpin, more or less, and Glynda for all incoming first year students, Cheyenne Aurora was walking through the halls of the academy to find her locker.

"Two... thousand... forty... nine..." The young Faunus mumbled while looking up from her scroll. "Where would that be..." She reached up, scratching her antlers a bit. Maybe this was a bad idea. Maybe it would of been better if she kept running away from Adam and the White Fang. If she just kept running, she would be fine.

She took a deep breath, quickly shaking her head. She had to get those thoughts out. She wasn't running away from anything now. When she became a Huntress, she would be able to give other people and Faunus both a better life. She would be able to give people the life they deserved. The life her parents deserved.

She gave another longer sigh before she gave a faint smile, looking at a locker number that said two thousand. "Yes!" She held up a fist in victory. "I'm getting closer!" She quickly looked around, going quiet while making sure no one else was able to hear her. She gave a sigh of relief before walking a bit faster. The riffle strapped to her back, which had wear and tear from the years, was starting to get heavy and she wanted to put it away in her locker.

Not only that, but she was still slightly shaken from the brunet earlier. The girl who almost shot her in the face with a deadly dart. She was lucky enough that her semblance could save her.

A couple months after she was saved by the men who kidnapped her and wanted to put her into a slave trade and after hours of endless training, the young Faunus was able to learn of the kind of power she had buried deep within her. If an object was inorganic, she could either age it into the past of the future of its form. For the dart shot at her. She just aged extremely far into its future and turned it to nothing but rust. It was actually a really close call. She had to make physical contact with it first. She was far beyond lucky that it wasn't a bullet. She didn't have a strong enough aura to keep those from harming her when she held out her hand.

She took a deep breath at remembering the would be Huntress. She was crazy and reckless. The world would probably be better without her protecting it.

It was then Cheyenne turned a corner, bumping into a red haired girl.

The two girls both grunted, both stumbling back. Cheyenne quickly looked up, blinking rapidly at the much younger girl in a tight black hoodie, unzip to show a red shirt, and in a pair of green skinny jeans with holes on the knees with tall black boots on.

"I'm so sorry!" The deer Faunus shrieked, holding her hands together tight in front of her chest. "I was lost in thought and looking and my scroll and trying to find my locker! And I'm so very, very, very sorry!" She bit her lip, quickly looking around before blinking at the other girl.

"Huh?" The red head mumbled, sliding a pair of green and red headphones around her neck. She stuck her right pinky in her ear, twisting it around a bit before pulling it out. "What you say?" She blinked then glanced up at Cheyenne.

Cheyenne gulped slightly, her arms holding each other. "I-I bumped into you. I'm very, very, very sorry." She lowered her head, shutting her eyes.

If it had been anyone else, Kris Eve would of completely gone off on them, but this girl was a deer Faunus. That was not even close to a bad thing in her book. She had always loved animals and Faunus, she always wanted to be one. Even with how much hate was directed towards them. She thought it would be so cool to be one, to have an animal part.

"It's no problem." She shrugged back, trying to stop herself from staring at those beautiful antlers. "What's your locker number? My mom sends me here with my aunt all the time. I know this place like the back of my hand."

"Um..." Cheyenne gulped a little, glancing down at her scroll. "Two thousand and forty three. Wait no, two thousand and forty nine." She quickly looked back up at the youger girl, her heart racing a bit.

Kris quickly looked away from the girl's antlers. "Alright so..." She pointed down a hall. "Walk about forty feet that way and it should be on your left." She moved her head a bit, the light hitting her face better and showing her perfectly done mascara.

"Thank you." She mumbled back, nodding softly. While she stared at her perfectly done makeup, Kris was just staring back at her but at her antlers. She quickly shook her head, looking down where Kris pointed. "You said your aunt brought you here. Who's your aunt?" She looked back, only to see the young red head was gone. She blinked a few times, sighing as she started to walk away

Hiding down another hall, Kris watched as Cheyenne slowly walked away. Her green eyes didn't leave those antlers for a single moment until she was out of veiw. They were beautiful. Beyond beautiful. She would stab someone to have antlers like those. She gave a long sigh, turning around on her heels as she pulled her headphones over her ears.

"But nooooo, you have to be a stupid fifteen year old girl who no one listens to." She grumbled, pulling her black hood over her head before sticking her hands in her pockets

After awhile, she lowered her head and just kept on walking, music blaring from her headphones. If she continued to walk through the academy and its grounds, her aunt couldn't get a hold of her and make her sit in the office with her and that old man.

Meanwhile, on the outside of the school, Elise was bouncing around from person to person. She couldn't help but talk to everyone she saw. Even if she made a fool of herself, which she didn't take mind to, she was having the time of her life speaking to students from all years.

Back at home on her family farm, it was just her, her mother, her father, and all the animals they took care of. She never even imaged this many people could be in a group at once. It was like someone in the center of Vaccuo seeing a giant ditch filled with water. Except, while the person in Vaccuo knew how to drink water, she had no clue how to interact with people.

She was trying her best though. Emphasis on trying that is. On the bright side, she was making a bunch of people smile. They just weren't exactly laughing with her more than they were at her. She was still smiling though. And without her padding underneath her camouflage jacket and cargo pants and air compressed riffle and baton in her locker, she was just able to bounce around faster.

She would of kept talking on and on until night fell and all first years had to go to the ballroom to sleep, but as Remnant may have it, there was a different thing planned.

Sprinting around the statue at the front of the academy, Elise grunted as she ran dead smack into someone. The force of the impact enough to send both of them to the ground.

"Hey!" Kris snapped, shoving the brunet off her. First a Faunus and then this girl. What would it be next, a rocket?

"Whooooooops!" Elise jumped to her feet, rubbing the back of her head which ruffled her brown hair as she shut her eyes. "Didn't see you there!" She gave off a faint laugh, her dark green eyes opening. "There was a group of boys who wanted to see some of the neat stuff I got while hunting!"

The red head blinked a few times, her eyes narrowing as she slid her headphones across her neck. A hunter. A blasted hunter. Someone who killed animals just for the fun of it. Her jaw tightened as she crossed her arms, looking away with a groan. She was trying to be nice today, and the Faunus she met earlier got to see her when she wasn't sick and tired of this world. This girl though, her luck just ran dry. "You're lucky your face doesn't look any worse. If it did, I would make you sorry. But it seems like you'll be sorry enough just by looking in a mirror like that."

Blinking several times, she held out her hand with a shocked expression on her face. "Whoa, chill little girl. What's up?"

Growling back, Kris shot Elise a glare which made her step back. "What's up is a dumb ass girl parading around like everyone loves her when she is most definitely not!"

"J-Jeez..." Elise blinked, rubbing the back of her head. "You don't have to be so rude."

"Rude!?" Her eyes narrowed and shot arrows made of ice into her very soul. "You're the one who walks around in the forest just killing everything in your path!"

"Hold on!" She took a step towards Kris. "It's not like I kill for fun! I kill to eat! And make things! And live! And even if I did kill for fun, what's the problem with that!? Animals die all the time!"

Kris growled again. "If I were to walk out and shoot a human, I would get in trouble! If I walked out and killed an animal, no one would bat an eye! It's wrong! Animals are just like us!"

"Animals are food! And they taste delicious! Expecially deer jerky!" She shot back, throwing her arms down at her sides.

Kris gave off a scream, running her fingers through her hair. "I'm tired of you and your snippy attitude!"

"Same here, short stacks!" Elise snapped as the youg red head turned around and stormed off. She growled silently to herself, checking the time on her scroll. The sun would set soon, and with people like that, she wanted sleep. People were suppose to be nicer than this and certainly not as insane. Her face grew a dark shade of red as she quickly turned around on her heels, walking off. It was so strange that someone would act like that. What was wrong with hunting? What was wrong with killing an animal for dinner? She took a deep breath, giving a sigh as she shook her head and started walking off. Perhaps there was more for her to learn about humanity.

While the two girls walked their separate ways, Kris glanced up at the ever slow setting sun. It wasn't fair for animals to be slaughtered. That had feelings just like humans. They got scared, they could feel pain, they were just like humans. She inhaled deeply, stopping as she looked up at the sky. For once, a slow song was playing from her headphones.

"One day... I'll make this place better. I promise." She sighed, holding up her thumb to cover the shining sun that turned the sky a light shade of pink while shutting one eye. "I just need to get past all this stupid Huntress stuff. Then I'll get to do what I want."

She sighed again as footsteps came closer to her. She glanced back, seeing the second in command at this school. "Aunt Glynda." She muttered, looking away.

Glynda crossed her arms, glaring off into the distance. "Your mother wishes for you to be sent back home tomorrow night so you can be ready to start school at Initial again."

"Bla bla bla." Kris moved her hand around in a talking motion before sliding her headphones back on, the slow song ending as heavy metal started. "I can't hear you." She started to walk away again, Glynda sighing as she followed behind.

In the ballroom where all new students met for sleep, Elise slowly walked inside with a sigh. She couldn't get that red heas girl out of her head. She shook her head, trying to get the thoughts out. She groaned, banging her head with her hands. She had to get her mind of things.

She lifted her head up, quickly scanning the area. She needed to find someone who she hadn't talked to yet. It was then her eyes caught a glimpse of a girl with long green hair. Said girl was sitting with her legs crossed and back arched forward slightly. A sword with a golden handle in a brown leather sheeth was resting across her chest as she leaned onto it. Her arms were burried deep inside the pocket of her green pullover hoodie while she wore a pair of black cargo shorts with a chain on the right side. Even though it was night, she still had a pair of black tennis shoes on and tied rather tightly.

With a grin, Elise suddenly appeared in front of the lonely looking stranger. "Helloooooooooo!" She smiled as wide as she could. "My name is Elise! It's nice to meet you!" She waved her hand, plopping down to sit in front of her. "Who are you?"

Looking up slowly, the jade haired girl raised an eyebrow as as strands of her hair fell in front of her face. Her pale green eyes slowly narrowing. . "Someone who is trying to relax without anyone bothering her."

Elise had one hand back, her eye twitching a bit. It was like a swarm of darkness completely overshadowed this girl suddenly. "I-I well," She tried to laugh it off, rubbing the back of her head. "I've been all around and haven't seen you so I decided to say hi."

Narrowing her eyes more, she lowered her head back down onto her weapon without a word.

"Yeaaaaa well..." Elise gulped, pointing at the sword. "You know, weapons are suppose to be in lockers."

"Yea?" She looked up with a harsh glare. "Well I keep it on me at all times. Expecially when I'm alseep. Mainly in a room full of people who don't tend to leave me alone."

She couldn't help but scoot back a little. "O-Okay. Calm down feisty." She held up her hands in defense, brushing her brown hair back."Just wanna talk with ya. No attacking." She smiled, hiding her inner screams.

With a faint sigh, she took a deep breath. "My name is Kagami, alright? I have trained for the past three years on my own to learn how to use this sword and applied here to get better for a reason that doesn't concern you. Anything else you want?"

Elise blinked a few times before sighing. "You're not much of a talker. And your voice clearly shows that your exhausted and in need of sleep. Not to mention your eyes. You... have a strange look in them." She blinked a little more before flinching as Kagami stood up.

"I know exactly what my eyes look like." She snapped in a rather harsh tone before taking a deep breath, strapping her sword to her back. "And word of the wise on making friends: not everyone wants to be talked to." With that, she turned around and started walking out. With her hands out of her pockets, Elise could see fingerless black gloves as well as two black rings on both of her ring fingers.

Giving a very long sigh, the farm girl leaned back, looking out a window at the sun as it disappeared behind the earth. She held up her thumb, covering what was left of the glowing orb as she shut her left eye and stuck out her tongue like she was aiming to shoot. "People are so weird."

As she did so, Kagami walked out of the ballroom and down the halls. She took a deep breath, putting her hands back in her hoodie pocket. She knew the moment she signed up for this place that she would have to deal with people, but she had no idea so many would actually talk to her. If these rumors about teams were real, she'd die. She would just die.

She glanced down at the floor only for a second. When she looked back up, she walked dead smack into a pair of antlers.

"S-Sorry! That's the second time today!" Cheyenne squealed, taking a step back.

Kagami blinked, slowly looking up at her. Even though she didn't try to look like it, she looked terrifying enough to make Cheyenne take several more steps back.

"I-I..." Cheyenne gulped slightly, her face going red. "S-Sorry. I've been really clumsy today and-" She stopped herself seeing a hand being held in front of her.

"Don't worry." Kagami lowered her hand. "Just pretend it never happened." She started to walk off.

Cheyenne blinked a few times, looking at the strange circle symbol on her back. "What's... nevermind." She started then stopped as Kagami glanced back at her.

The green haired girl rolled her eyes a little, walking off.

With a very long sigh, Cheyenne brushed some hair behind her ear. New school. New town. New people. New everything. Even a new life. That was why she was here. More importantly though, she was here to make a difference.

"Couldn't you be easy on me for once..." She groaned, looking up at the windows above the lockers. There, she saw the broken moon slowly falling apart. She then gave a sigh, holding up her hand to grab it. "One day..." She mumbled, gripping her hand into a fist.

Kagami slowly made her way up a flight of stairs, walking up to the top of a building and onto the roof.

"At least here it will he quiet." She mumbled, taking off her sword and setting it down. She then layed down herself, looking up at the starry night. This was far better than sleeping in a huge room filled with people. She yawned just a bit before stretching out her arms and legs. She put one hand behind her head, the other reaching up to the moon before coming back down to her side.

"I know you're looking at the same exact stars and moon that I am." She sighed, taking a deep breath. "And I promise you... after I get strong enough here, I'm coming back for you. I promise." She stared up at the sky for a little longer before slowly shutting her eyes.


	11. One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

As the sun slowly started to rise, sending rays of light across Vale and onto the rooftops of Beacon Academy, a certain jade haired teenage girl was already wide awake and preparing for the day to come in her own special way.

"Ninety-seven... ninety-eight... ninety-nine... one hundred." With her palms braced against the floor and her right leg crossed over her other leg with just the tip of her left foot against the roof, Kagami pushed her body up. Her torso and legs remained completely in a straight line as she did so, her long and wavy green hair pulled back into a ponytail that curled around her right shoulder.

"There we go." She let out a sigh of relief, bringing a knee to the ground and waiting a moment before she sat back to relax.

Like every morning for the past few years, since she was too old to enroll in a combat school, Kagami proceed with her usual routine. A hundred sit ups followed by a hundred squats and a hundred push-ups. She had to get stronger somehow, for her mother she had to, and that was the only thing she could think of doing to do such.

"Now then," She stood up, pulling the sleeves down on her hoodie. She stretched her neck a bit as she reached down and picked up her sword, strapping it across her back. Since she had terrible trust issues to start with, her shoes had stayed on all night and were still tied on tight. She reached up, pulling her hair down as she stretched out her chest. "Let's start this show."

Kagami glanced up at the sun, turning around and walking backwards to the door that led her up here. "I'm getting one step closer to seeing you again." She gave a faint smile, giving a two finger salute with her right hand to sky before turning around on her heels and opening the door, heading down the stairs.

Meanwhile, down below in the ballroom, Elise was have a little bit more difficult time waking up. Having grown up on a farm far away from civilization her entire life, the only noises she was use to hearing at night was the sound of nature. Here though, during her first night spent in city limits, she could hear cars honking and sirens going off one after another.

She couldn't sleep with that to save her life.

Which is why at the moment, the young farm girl was groaning as she slowly slid out of her pile of blanket ontop of her. Getting out of it, she grumbled at the cold floor, reaching over and grabbing the top blanket which she covered herself with a curled up. Her eyes slowly opened, blinking as an attempted to get the sleep from her eyes. When that failed, she groaned rather loudly, tossing the blanket off her as she sat up and rubbed her eyes.

"I hate ALL of you!" She shouted, a few students turning back to look at her before going onto their own business. With another grumbled, Elise opened her eyes and glared at her mountain of blankets. She blinked slowly, staring at them with a dead sleepy look in her dark green eyes.

"I guess... I should clean you up..." She sighed, reaching over and grabbing a large bag. She then proceeded to stuff blanket after blanket into it before it looked like it was about to explode like a volcano.

"All done." She smiled, standing up with the swollen bag over her shoulder as she started to walk off. Her smile only lasted for a bit before she groaned, sleep deprivation hitting her again as she stumbled out of the ballroom and towards a bathroom

As she did so, Cheyenne watched, calmly folding everything she slept on as neat as she possibly could.

"That girl... is far beyond crazy." She muttered to herself so quiet she could barely hear. She glanced down at her stuff, staring at it below her hands before sighing and standing up with it. This was it. This was the day. Her first full day at Beacon.

She inhaled as deeply as she could, holding the breath in for a few seconds before releasing it. She could do this. She had to do this for all the people on Remnant who deserved better than what they had. She had to become a Huntress for them and her parents.

Cheyenne started to walk off, pushing her light brown hair behind her ear before freezing. Out of the corner of her eye, she just barely caught a glimpse of a girl dressed in black and white while holding a book in her hands and a bow tied on the top of her head. There was no possible way she saw her of all people.

She gulped, taking a few more steps before doing a quick double take, her hair flying around her face. Seeing that face only told her that who she was seeing was in fact the same person who saved her years ago.

Blake Belladonna was here at the same exact school as she was. It was such an unbelievable coincidence. Then again, Cheyenne never believed in coincidences. Everything happened for a reason in her book. But to see Blake again, that was far too shocking for even her. So instead of walking over and giving a faint smile or even saying hello, she quickly started to walk away. What was she suppose to do if Blake caught a glimpse of her?

She just silently groaned, burying her face in her stuff as she let out a long sigh. Never mind that right now. She lowered her stuff, taking another deep breath. She needed to prepare for initiation as best as she could.

A few hours later, Kagami blinked slowly as she was launched off a cliff and into the air.

"I... think I need a landing strategy." She mumbled to herself, doing her best to ignore the fact she did infact have to work together with people during this and the rest of her four years here while scratching the back of her head as her hair flew up and behind her like a cape. She gave a faint sigh, seeing the trees come ever so slowly closer and closer to her. Even so, she seemed as calm as ever or rather bored of it all.

"Hmm." She twirled onto her back as she continued to fall, looking up at the sky and several other students who were shot off the cliff. "I guess I should just stab a tree." She shrugged again, turning back to face the ground just as a leaf brushed across her face.

A ways away, Cheyenne was flailing her arms around with wide eyes. "Plan! Plan! Plan!" She squealed out, her arms suddenly holding herself incredibly tight. "I'm going to diiiiiiiie!" She shrieked and shut her eyes as tree branches started to fly by her.

She then let out a faint grunt, hitting a vine and breaking a piece off. She stumbled a bit with it before she caught it on her hands. She opened her eyes, blinking a few times before screaming and shutting her eyes again, gripping the vine extremely tight. A moment later, the plant started to grow rapidly until it covered the ground in an extremely thick layer.

Giving another, much softer grunt, Cheyenne sat up on the vines she hit. "Oh... that actually worked." She smiled, jumping up to her feet as she started to dance around. "I'm alive! Thank Oum for my semblance! And than this vine!" She then quickly stopped, hushing herself as she looked around. Luckily for her, her shouts of joy didn't alarm any Grimm near by.

She let out a sigh of relief, only to jump as the sound of something impacting water shot through the air, scaring off several birds.

In the distance, in a small but extremely deep pond, Elise's head popped out of it and gasped for air.

"Whoa..." Was all the brunet let out with rapid breathing before she started to swim to the edge. There, she jumped to her feet, ringing out her clothes as best as she could before looking up at the sky to which she grinned at. "That was so flipping awesome! I thought Oz was joking when he said we had to land on our own! And then woosh!" She moved her hand through the air. "Right off that cliff and looking death in the face the SPLASH! Right into the water!"

She couldn't help but smile more, twirling around. "Wait," Her eyes locked on the forest. "It's time to go big or go home." She pulled one foot back before sprinting as fast as she could into the unknown boundaries of the Emerald Forest. "And it's also time to find a partner!"

Elise could of very much contiuened on running for a longer period of time, but as she found herself in a cleared off arean, a blur of red, green, and black suddenly shot down in front of her. She skidded to a stop, stumbling before crashing into what, or who had landed on the ground in front of her.

As she pushed herself up, shaking her head slightly, her eyes opened and quickly began to blink as she made eye contact with a pair of bright green eyes with mascara around them.

"You have got to be kidding me." She mumbled to herself.

Several minutes earlier, just as the second to last student was being launched into the air for this round of initiation, Ozpin lifted up his head to see someone running as fast as they could towards the cliff. "Glynda?" He raised an eyebrow, leaning over as said woman lifted her head up.

She blinked a few times before her green eyes went wide, seeing a Huntsman in training being shoved off his launching pad and a pair of boots replacing him. "Christmas!"She snapped, taking one step forward.

"I'm not going back to Intial! I thought about it all night and I am not going back! I'll find my own way!" Kris shot back, crouching down before she was shot off into the air.

Ozpin blinked a few times and kept a blank expression, turning around to watch her fall while taking a sip from his mug. "I don't believe she wishes to return home." He muttered, turning back to face his coworker.

With her jaw clenched and hands balled up in tight fist, Glynda did her best to hold in a growl that so badly wanted to form. She took a deep breath, her nostrils fairing as she stepped towards the edge of the cliff next to Ozpin. Before she could speak though, he calmly held out his hand.

"Let it be, Glynda. If she doesn't want to go back, don't make her. Let her see how much she fairs against the creatures of Grimm in Emerald." He couldn't help but give a faint smile. "I myself would actually like to see how this turns out."

Glynda took another deep breath before sighing and taking out her scroll. "She still must return to my sister's. She must go to school. If not Initial, then where exactly..." She trailed off, sensing a look in Ozpin's eyes that she saw one to many times. She couldn't help but roll her eyes, taking another deep breath.

"If she can make it out alive, then why not?" He glanced at her, smiling.

Flying through the air, Kris was smiling as wide as she possibly could with her arms outstretched and eyes shut. This is what it felt like to fly, what it felt like to be free.

"I'm never going baaaaack!" She cried out, opening her eyes to watched the trees fly by. "I'm going to find my own waaaaay!" She grinned, both her arms reaching up and going to her back. A second later, she pulled out a set of twin curved canes with red and white stripes across them both. Between the curve and the bottom tip there was a silver part with a few red and green buttons on it.

"Here! We! Go!" Her grin only grew as she spun the weapons around by the curved part like a pair of tonfas. As the sky vanished behind tree tops, she gripped her duel canes tight enough for her knuckles to turn a bright white. She let her hands slip down, going across the silver part and down to the bottom of them both. Reaching both arms up, she caught hold of a branch, swinging around it before flying to the next one, doing the same.

Kris did this until she was close enough to the ground and not going to fast that she could drop down without harming herself. She launched herself from a branch, putting her weapons on her back before she tucked and rolled onto the floor. As she stood, she dusted herself off before she felt someone run straight into her.

As she opened her eyes to glance up, she blinked once at the sight of a camouflage jacket and dark green eyes looking into hers. "Oh for the love of..." She trailed off, her eyes narrowing.

In another part of the Emerald Forest, Cheyenne was calmly walking around with her hands cupped around her mouth. "Hello!? Is anyone out there!?" She finally sighed, letting her arms drop as she walked along. She had been walking for what felt like forever and didn't see a single sign of anyone else or anything else. She wasn't launched that far away, was she?

"Way to go Cheyenne, you're already failing." She gave yet another sigh, kicking her brown boots across the floor as she crossed her arms, her Grimm armor gauntlets clinking together as she did so. This was going so well. Not only did she not have a partner yet, but when she fell in the vines that saved her, her white shorts and vest got dirty. Maybe choosing to wear white while attempting to become a Huntress wasn't the best idea. There had to others out there with the same problem though.

"And you can't even find this stupid temple!" She kicked a rock, it flying straight towards a bush. As it went inside it, there was a faint animal like yelp followed by a growl.

Cheyenne blinked once, taking a step back as a large Beoworlf slowly stood up on its back legs. She went to say something but instead took another step back as another creature of darkness stood up behind its brethren.

"Okay so... well then," She reached back, pulling out her modified Atlas riffle as she took several more steps back. "Okay, okay, okay. Just kill them both. Peiece of cake. You've killed plenty of Grimm. You got this. Yep. Totally got this." As one of the Beowolves took a step towards her, Cheyenne was suddenly bolting in the opposite direction. "I don't got this! The headmaster is probably watching me!"

As she ran through the woods, she stumbled to a stop as a Beowolf jumped over her, its claws digging into the ground as it landed in front of her. It growled again, standing up tall as it turned around to face her. With a gulp, she took a step back, turning around to see the other Grimm from before stalking up towards her.

"Well that's just great." She mumbled. "There is one on both sides of me." She gave a faint sigh, gripping her riffle tight. "Alright. I'm fine. I got this."

Cheyenne took a deep breath, bringing the riffle up to aim at one of the creatures of darkness. She fired a single shot, hitting it in the leg before running towards a tree that was long since dead, barely even standing up anymore. As one stumbled back, the other charged at her. It just didn't have time to get close enough before she placed her hand on the tree, it immediately rotting away completely in the lower part before falling over onto the Grimm coming at her.

"Bullseye!" She gave a faint smile, quickly turning around to shoot at the other Grimm. As it stumbled away yet again with a whine, the other roared and stood up. With an inhuman like growl, it pushed its head underneath the fallen tree and lifted it upward, sneding it flying towards Cheyenne.

With a deep breath, Cheyenne jumped up and went over the large tree trunk. Her feet landed on it as it continued to move, her jaw clenching. She crouched down just a bit before launching herself off the trunk, heading straight towards the Beowolf.

As she dod so, the Beowolf lunged right at her, its mouth opening wide enough so it could easily swallow her whole.

Not that Cheyenne was worried about that though.

Flipping a switch on the bottom of the buck, a grin formed just a bit on her face. On her rifle, just below the main barrel, several pieces started to separate and change positions before reconnected back together to form a barrel just a little bit bigger below the main one.

"I'd like to see you devour this!" She shouted, squeezing the trigger and keeping it clenched, a blue glow forming where the new barrel formed. She waited until the tip of the riffle was just an arm stretch away from the Beowolf's mouth before she released the trigger, firing a large white blast right into its mouth.

The creature gave off a crying roar, stumbling back a few steps before falling flat on the ground with a thud, dust rising up all around its body. As Cheyenne landed back on the ground, the Grimm's body was already startong to decay away into a dark mist.

"Well," Cheyenne put a hand on her hip with a smile. "That went off without any backfire." She gave a faint chuckle, rubbing the back of her antlers. "I probably should of tested that upgrade out before coming here, but that went perfectly fine."

It was then she heard the growl of the second Beowolf from behind her. She blinked a few times, looking back at it as she held up her arms with narrowed eyes and a gulp.

Before she or the Grimm could attack one another, the sound of a sword being unsheathed was heard. In an instant, the Beowolf howled out, its head tossing back before it fell limp onto the ground.

Standing on its back was Kagami, pulling her sword from its back. She flung the blade to the side, letting anything left on it fly off. She then twirled it around in her hand, tilting her her head slightly before sheathing it on her back.

As much as she didn't want to, she looked up. Immediately, she shouted at herself internally for making eye contact with the deer Faunus in front of her. She was really hoping she could make it without being spotted by anyone, or spotting anyone.

Cheyenne blinked a few times, slowly lowering her weapon as the second barrel folded back up. "You know," She put her weapon on her back. "That thing would of probably had my head if you didn't show up."

"Uh, yea, no problem." Kagami mumbled back, rubbing the back of her head as she jumped off the decaying Grimm.

"Hey," Cheyenne took a step towards her, an arm outstretched. "Aren't you the-" She was cut off as Kagami finished for her.

"Yes, I'm the one who ran into you last night." She sighed, sticking her hands in her hoodie pocket as she walked closer. Inside her pocket, her fingernails were picking at the skin on her fingers. It was a force of habit when she felt nervous. She wasn't good with people. She was far better off on her own. "And... I guess this means we're... partners."

"Guess so..." She looked back at her, rising up onto her tip toes as her hands moved behind her back.

Silence fell over the two of them as awkwardness filled the air. Even a tumble weed slowly rolled between the two of them. This was definitely an awkward pairing, but at least they were better off than two others.

"Phycotic murderer!"

"Skinny stick!"

"Barbaque slob!"

"Lettuce head!"

"Diabetes central!"

"Malnutrition HQ!"

Kris and Elise shot back at each other, thinking of the worst names the could call each other as they walked through the forest. Little did the two of them come to realize was how much the Grimm were being drawn to their negative emotions.

"You're such an inconsiderate piece of garbage!" Kris snapped, stomping a foot down. "Do you even think of the animals that you kill and how they might have families!?"

Elise stopped, turning around to glare ba k at the red head. "When I am hunting I am thinking about MY family and how they need something to eat! Do you ever consider maybe your precious plants might have feelings and feel pain and are extremely scared when you pull them from the ground!?"

The young girl blinked a few times before facepalming extremely hard. "Do you even hear yourself speaking!?"

"No!" She shot back. "I'm too busy listening to you yap on and on!"

With a deep growl, Kris shot her head up and glared. "I'm going to-!" She stopped herself, her head snapping back behind her. She blinked a few times, a feeling raging in her gut as she heard a twig snap. "Oh crap..." She mumbled, shoving Elise out of the way as she jumped back. Between the two of them landed an incredibly large Alpha Ursa with spikes crawling across its back.

"Holy..." Elise trailed off, slowly looking up at the giant creature with wide eyes. This is a wonderful first meeting between her and Grimm. It couldn't of gone any worse.

"Damn, damn, damn." Kris mumbled, taking a few steps back as she pulled out her weapons. "Alright meat eater, time to show off those hunting skills of yours!"

"U-Um... y-yea..." She gulped, taking another step back. "Would... would this be a bad time to say I've never... really seen... a Grimm... before this moment..."

"WHAT!?" Her voice shot higher than ever before. She quickly pressed a dark green button on her canes as blades shot out of the ends. "I can't believe you!" She charged forward, gritting her teeth extremely tight. She could feel her heart pounding in her head. A single Grimm was one thing, but an Alpha was another story.

"Remind me, if we get out of this alive..." She shot a glare towards Elise. "I'm killing you!" She looked back at the Alpha, jumping up into the air. "I'll kill you like how you kill!"

"I don't kill!" Elise took a step forward. "I hunt!"

"Same damn thing!" She snapped back, flashing her teeth as the Ursa opened its mouth. At the moemmt, she needed dumb luck on her side. Hopefully she would get that. With a faint scream, she lodged both her bladed weapons inside its mouth and quickly jumped back, releasing her weapons.

The Grimm cried out in pain, trying to shut its mouth but unable to do so from the weapons. It thrashed its head around, howling up at the sky as his claws went to push out the blades from its mouth. Even as it tried, it failed.

Kris gave a faint smile, unzipping her hoodie all the way as she grabbed one side of it, pulling it outward. Lined on the inside of the fabric was a huge collection of toys in pockets. "Hmmm... which one do I need..." She tapped her chin, poking at individual toys.

"You... brought..." Elise blinked several times, slowly raising her hand. "You brought toys to a Grimm infested place...?" She shook her head, her hands going to grab her air-compressed rifle. "You're completely and utterly insane!" She shouted, holding up her weapon and aiming it at the rampaging beast. "If you won't attack it, I will!" She reached into on of her pouches, pulling out a red cartridge and loading it in. She immediately started to fire shot after shot, sending dart that exploded on contact.

The attack didn't do much more than agitate the Alpha with its armor covering its body. Only a few actually pierced its black skin and caused a slight wound. When darts stopped hitting it, its head shot up to glare at Elise who took a step back. Even with his mouth still held open by Kris' weapons, it charged at her like it was about to eat her.

"Oh shut it Miss I have never seen a Grimm before!" Kris snapped back, pulling out a small blue propeller airplane. Her jaw clenched again as she held it out in her palm. She took a deep breath, shutting her eyes. The blue toy soon started to gain a green glow to it, the propeller turning on its own as it started to float. A moment later, it was heading straight towards the Ursa.

The monster turned its head, tilting it slightly at the object flying towards it. With its mouth forced opened, the tiny airplane easily flew straight inside it and caused it to give off a yelp as it jerked around.

"What the..." Elise trailed off, slowly standing up straight as she stared at the sight. She blinked once before rubbing her eyes and looking back up. "What?"

"I said shut up!" Kris snapped, her outstretched hand clenching shut as her eyes shot open. "Just shut up!"

As she did so, the Alpha gave off a burp and let out a green mist of air. A moment later, his abdomen puffed out as if something exploded inside of it before it fell limp onto the ground with a thud.

Kris walked over to it, jerking her weapons from its mouth. She retracted the blades, putting them back on her back. Her head then snapped towards Elise, glaring incredibly harshly.

Elise kept on blinking before shaking her head as she put her rifle back on her back. "I... have no idea what just..." She trailed off, not even finishing her sentences.

"Just shut up you fat ingesting slum." She looked away, zipping up her hoodie as she walked forward.

"Hold on!" Elise held up a finger, walking after her. "If you think I am going to let a skinny green bean like you call me names like that, you are dead wrong!"

"I think I have discovered that by now, Miss heart attack!" She shot back, gritting her teeth tightly.

"Shut your mouth! I'm tired of hearing your voice and smelling your leaf breath! This blasted temple won't find itself!" She snapped, her hands balling up in tight fist.

The two of them went at it again, going back and forth at the top of their lungs. Both of them unaware of a pack of Grimm slowly stalking up behind them.

"So..." Kagami rubbed the back of her head as she stared at the broken down temple with chess pieces placed at special stands put up, some already missing. "You think these are the relics?" She glanced back at Cheyenne.

Said Faunus was staring at a beautiful carved black knight piece. "Huh?" She quickly looked back at Kagami, blinking several times.

She just smiled a bit at her, trying not to let it show as she looked away. "Go ahead. We can choose that one."

"Are you sure?" She asked back. "I mean... wouldn't you like to choose or... or..." She trailed off, stumbling on her words.

Kagami just shook her head a bit, slowly walking over towards her with her hands in her pockets. "I already said go ahead. You were looking at it like you were drawn to it by magic or something."

"By magic?" She raised an eyebrow, looking back at her.

She just rolled her eyes a bit, reaching out and grabbing the black piece. "We're taking it, so just relax."

Cheyenne went to respond only to be cut off by incredibly loud screaming mixed with a very loud yelling argument.

"Huh?" Kagami glanced back at the forest, raising an eyebrow as she saw a girl in camouflage run out followed by a girl in red, black and green.

"This is all your fault!" Elise shouted as she bolted straight for the temple that was falling down.

"My fault?!" Kris snapped, just a few steps behind her with soft panting. "You're the idiot who came to a school designed to train people to kill Grimm yet you never even seen one before! How did you even get in!?"

"I just applied and got it!" She shot back as she ran past Cheyenne and Kagami. She then quickly grabbed a chess piece, not even bothering to look at it before skidding to a stop and changing the direction of her run.

"I can't even believe you!" Kris called out, stumbling a bit as she turned to follow.

"What do you think has them runnig so fast?" Cheyenne asked, looking over at Kagami.

"Well..." The jade haired girl paused for a moment before pointing over at where the two girls came running from. "I think that."

Cheyenne raised an eyebrow, looking over before her eyes went incredibly wide. Coming out of the forest was Alpha Ursa after Alpha Ursa. "Oh dear Oum." She mumbled to herself before bolting after the other two who were still arguing with each other.

With a very long sigh, Kagami's shoulders dropped down. "Well there went taking it easy." She muttered before running off after them.

"So where are we running to!?" Cheyenne shouted in a somewhat panic to the red head.

"Anywhere but here!" Kris answered, glancing back at the pack of Ursa following.

"What if we climb a tree-!" Elise started and then was cut off by Kris.

"No! You are not allowed to have anymore ideas!" Her panting only grew worse and worse. She was definitely not the running type.

"So the plan!?" The deer Faunus asked, fear now overcoming the panic.

"Just stay alive!" The brunet answered.

"Um... guys!" Kagami shouted, skidding to a stop as she looked ahead. All three girls looked back at her with a glare, looking forward and doing the same.

In front of them were several Grimm, not to mention the ones behind her. Each of them had a a lust for blood hidden behind their crimson eyes. Slowly, they began to circle the four girls. They walked closer only a few times before planting their feet down on the ground and waiting. They were waiting for the first move of their prey.

With their backs turned to each other and weapons out, each of the four girls took one step forward. As the creatures of darkness growled out, the each took two steps backwards so that their backs were touching.

"Okay..." Cheyenne gulped, trying not to tremble. "Someone needs to come up with a plan..."

"No kidding..." Elise spoke quietly, quickly glancing at Kris before looking back at the Grimm. "Have anymore of those airplanes..."

"Not enough..." She answered. "And I would need their mouths open for a clear shot..."

After several long moments of silence, Kagami finally spoke up with a gulp. "Okay, if you guys want to live, I need you all to tell me exactly what your semblances are right now so I can come up with a plan..." She glanced back at the three. "Because I really don't feel like dying."


	12. United We stand

Elise, Kris, and Cheyenne all looked at Kagami before glancing at each other then back at her.

"I can disappear into a foggy mist." The young farm girl suddenly blurted out while gripping her weapon tight. "A foggy mist will slowly form around me and I can go anywhere within a hundred foot radius unseen. Give or take a few seconds." She gulped, staring at the deadly red eyes all around her.

The deer Faunus glanced at her before at Kagami then at the Alpha Ursas. "I-I... I can make things that are no longer living or that were never living to begin with go into their future or past by messing with their molecules."

"I can control toys." The youngest of the four of them said before raising an eyebrow at the stares she was given. "What?"

"You... brought toys..." Cheyenne said, trailing off.

"... to... a battle...?" Kagami finished for her, her head tilting to the side a bit.

"Yes!" Kris snapped, her green eyes screaming that she was about to attack someone. She then flinched as she heard a growl. Her head quickly snapped back to the Grimm in front of her. "Now think of a plan!"

"Alright," The jade haired girl gave a nod. "I got something." Her jaw clenched as she glanced back. "But you three need to do exactly as I say."

"Okay." Cheyenne quickly said as Elise nodded slowly.

"You mean listen to-" Kris mumbled then stopped herself at the glares towards her. "Fine."

"Okay..." Kagami slowly lowered herself into a fighting stance with her blade up. "Wait for one to attack. And then, when one does-" She stopped herself, blinking a few times as an Ursa charged forward. "Or now."

All four girls tensed up as their attentions turned to the spiked and armored monster running at them at full speed.

"And the plan!?" Kris snapped as she took a step away.

Kagami gritted her teeth, waiting a few more seconds for the Grimm to come closer. Her head then quickly snapped back towards Elise. "Take Antlers over here and get behind the pack and into the woods through the opening that one made from running towards us! Now!" She snapped.

Elise blinked a few times before reaching out and grabbing Cheyenne's wrist. Without even so much as a word, a dark green mist slowly came from her sleeves and wrapped around the two of them.

"H-Hold on! Wha-!?" The Faunus shouted before being cut off as the fog wrapped around the two of them completely. As it started to fade, there wasn't even a trace of them.

"And we do what!?" Kris snapped once again, staring at Kagami with wide eyes and her arms out.

Kagami glanced back at her, holding up her sword. "I need you to jump."

"Huh?" She blinked, tilting her head.

With a groan, she jabbed her sword into the ground and turned around. Crouched down with her fingers interlocking, she shouted. "I need you to go in the air!"

The red head blinked several times before running towards her. "Okaaaaaaaaaaay...?" Her voice was filled with confusion as she jumped up into Kagami's hands. A moment later, she was smiling as she was launched into the air. "Wooooooohooooooo!" She smiled, turning over to face the ground below.

Quickly turning around, Kagami pulled her sword from the ground and bolted towards the Alpha Ursa. Getting rather close to the beast, she let herself slide underneath it. At the same time, it skidded to a stop above her only to give out a yelp as a blade shot through its neck.

As the blade cut one half of the neck, she rolled out from under it and jumped up. Seeing several other Grimm charging at her, she looked up at Kris who started to fall downward. Her head then snapped towards the woods where she told Cheyenne and Elise to go.

"I need a distraction! Shoot everything your got at them!" She called out just before a rain of darts and blasts shot out at the charging Grimm.

The creatures all stumbled a bit before stopping and looking around. They gave each other confused grunts and groans before stumbling once again as more gunfire struck them.

With a grin, Kagami took a step to the side as Kris landed next to her. Said red head raised an eybrow over at her.

"And why did I have to go up?" She asked.

"Because I didn't want you yelling at me." She said plainly, looking over as the small girl growled. She just rolled her eyes a little and pointed at one of Kris' weapons. "There is a clear line made between the curved and the straight part indicating it come off and most likely attached to a chain, right?"

Blinking a few times, Kris looked down at her weapon and nodded as the gunfire stopped. "Yeah."

"Good." She reached out, gripping the curved edge. "My plan relied on that."

Blinking a few times, Kris growled a clicked a button as the top of her can released, a chain slowly coming out and connecting it to the bottom. "Your plan relied on a hunch!"

"Yep." Kagami said with little to no emotion.

"You think that's enough?" Cheyenne panted, hiding behind a tree with her arms tucking her Atlas rifle into her chest.

Glancing over at her, Elise was hiding beind her own tree. Her air compressed rifle under her right armpit. "Maybe." She slowly looked around the tree, glancing into the open area. She then blinked, glancing at Cheyenne again. "You should check this out." She mumbled.

She cautiously took a step out, looking over. She too blinked several times at the sight.

"I'm getting dizzy damn it!" Kris cried out, spinning around in a circle as fast as she could. In front of her, both her hands gripped her weapon as tight as she could. A bit away, connected by the chain, Kagami was holding on with one hand, her other holding her sword.

"Shut up!" She snapped, bringing her sword down on the necks of each Alpha Ursa that came within distance as she was spun around.

After several fell, Kagami let go of the red and white striped cane. She skidded on the ground, her feet digging up grass as she dug her blade into the ground to slow herself. Once she came to a full stop, she looked up at the remaining Grimm.

"Red head!" She snapped, looking over at Kris. "I need you to draw all the Grimm to a specific area with your toy possession thingy!"

"Um, okay." Kris blinked, unzipping her hoodie and looking through the mass assortment of figures and vehicles.

"Some time today!" Kagami shouted as The Alpha Ursa started to charge.

"Yea, yea." She sighed, grabbing a few small helicopters. "Hold your horses." She held out her hands, the objects each gaining either a red or green glow to them before flying off. Kris took a deep breath, shutting her eyes.

Each one of the toys shot straight in front of the each remaining Grimm. It didn't take long for the monsters to start to try and chomp down on the flying objects, following them like a dog who was being anoyed by a fly.

As the helicopters slowly flew closer together, just barley missing the teeth of each monster, they slowly became huddled up together before dropping onto the ground. A moment later, they were crushed by Grimm with ease.

"Antlers!" Kagami shouted, looking over at Elise and Cheyenne who slowly came out of the woods. "I need you to erode the ground away beneath them! Right now!"

"Th-That... that's a lot! I've never done that much before!" Cheyenne shouted, looking over as the Alpha Ursas sliwly stood up straight again.

"Well do it!" Kagami snapped, gripping the hilt of her sword tight.

"Don't worry," Elise inhaled deeply, shoving the Faunus forward. "You'll do fine. And I'm too young to die!"

"B-But...!" Cheyenne shouted, stumbling forward with wide eyes. As the Grimm looked over in her direction, she yelped and quickly put her hands on the ground as she shut her eyes. "I'm going to die! I'm going to die! I'm going to-!" She stopped herself and blinked as the earth below the Alpha Ursas collapsed in on itself. She blinked a little before smiling. "I'm... going to live..." She panted a little, her vision blurring just a bit. She quickly shook her head and leaned back.

Kris did the same, breathing much heavier though. "Too many toys at once..." She mumbled, zipping up her black hoodie as her green eyes shut.

Kagami just gave a sigh, slowly lowering her head as she sheathed her sword. These three would probably kill her if she told them she didn't plan this out at all. She was completely winging it.

"Well," Elise smiled, putting her hands on her hips. "That just happened." Her smile grew some as she suddenly started to dance around. "And that was so cool!"

A few hours later, as teams were being formed and given names and leaders, Cheyenne and Kagami stood next to each other in awkward silence. Though, most other students were silent as well. Even Kris and Elise had ceased to argue in a moment like this. At least they knew when to stop.

It was then when Professor Ozpin started to call the next set of names that Kagami's head perk up.

"Cheyenne Aurora. Christmas Eve." He paused himself, letting the young girl correct him. "Kagami M. And Elise Spruce." As he pushed up his glasses, Elise looked over at Kagami.

"Just M?" The brunet whispered.

Kagami just nodded, not wanting to explain why to anypme. "Yep."

As she gave a sigh back, Ozpin continued. "The four of you retrieved the black knight pieces,"

Elise tilted her head at that, raising an eyebrow over at Kris. "I did?" Not eve waiting for the red head to asnwer, she looked back up at Ozpin.

Said headmaster pushed up his glasses again. "From this day forward, you will work together as..."

Kagami felt her stomach twist as she gave off a silent groan. Working together with people. These people of all people. Someone just kill her now. Her stomach was twisting in knots and it was about to get far worse.

"Team MACE." The professor gave a nod towards Kris.

Said girl couldn't help but smile. He looked at her. That had to mean she was leader somehow. She could finally show her mother exactly what she could do on her own. Although, her visions of that were quickly shattered.

"Led by, Kagami." Ozpin glanced over at said girl who's face went paler than what it normally was. "Congratulations."

She just stared back at him with a confused look in her eyes. "...huh..." Was all she could manage out.

Kris was just as surprised before shooting the jade haired girl a glare. It was better than that wretched hunter at least.

Said farm girl though suddenly grabbed Cheyenne by the wrist, pulling her away. "Come on you two! I'm going to our dorm which means you're coming! I have had a long day and I would like to sleep!" As she walked off, pulling Cheyenne who willingly let it happen, Kris turned on her heels and stormed off.

Kagami just glanced up at Ozpin, raising an eyebrow before slowly walking off the stage.

Meanwhile, far off into the city of Vale, in an old and abandoned warehouse, a shirtless man in a pair of dark blue cargo shorts was laying in a tub of ice.

"Damn, it's so hot here." He groaned, pushing his long purple hair back as he soaked into the ice. "I'd hate to live in Vaccuo. I swear I would die of heat stroke." He mumbled, stretching out his arm.

Just then, his scroll on the outside floor started to ring. He gave a sigh, reaching over and picking it up. "Yea..." He sat up. "I told you, I'm getting around to it... I am hurrying! Changing from Mantle air to this heat wave is difficult... yes I know she wants the job done now... yes, I know she gave me extra lien... I know! I know! Damn..." He sighed. "Look, just give me a few more weeks and I'll have everything ready for her arrival, alright?" After a long pause, he sighed in relief. "Thank you." He shut off his scroll, setting it back down before curling up in the ice. "Now leave me alone and let me cool off."


	13. When Life Hands You Lemons, You Eat Them

"Hey guys..." Standing near the door to her and her teams dorm roon, Cheyenne, who was in her school uniform, tilted her head with a sigh while rubbing one of her antlers. "I really... don't think this is going to work." Her brown eyes trailed across the entire room before she shut them and gave another sigh, her head lowering into her shoulders.

All four beds were covered and all across the floor was a mixture of hunting gear, weapon cleaners, makeup, band posters, crafts and drawing utensils. It was a rather huge mess of clothing, blankets, and pillows as well. To anyone, this sight would make them think a tornado blew through the country, an emo store, and some old lady's basement and just dropped everything off here.

"I think I agree with her." Kagami mumbled, her arms crossed. Even though she was wearing Beacon's uniform, she still had her green hoodie on as well as her sword strapped to her back along with her black rings on her fingers. "You guys brought too much stuff."

"Not my fault your poor and didn't bring anything." Kris grumbled out, her jaw tensing a bit. She still didn't like the fact of not being leader. Like this, she would never prove to her mother how amazing she was. "And besides, I think it's perfect. My room looked exactly the same. Minus the icky camouflage and art things."

"Hey!" Elise snapped, glaring over at the smaller girl. She gave a faint growl before quickly crossing her arms and turning away with a pout. "At least I'm not so short I can't even reach the top shelf."

"I am five foot one!" The red head snapped, tossing her arms down and growling at her. "I'm sorry we all can't be like Cheyenne over her and be a million feet tall!"

"I'm actually only five seven." Said deer Faunus mumbled, her hand raising a bit. "My antlers just make me look five eleven."

"Wait," Elise glanced over at her before suddenly becoming back to back with her. "You're five eleven? I'm five nine." She held up her hand, measuring the distance from the top of her head to the top of Cheyenne's antlers. She brought her hand down, tilting her head. "Huh. Does this look like two inches?" She held it in front of Kagami's face.

The jade haired girl sighe, rubbing her face a little. "I guess... sure. Why not." She shrugged as Elise pulled her hand back.

"Can we all stop talking about how tall we are!?" Kris snapped, pointing at their dorm room. "We kinda need to fix this!"

"You know," Kagami stuck her hands in her hoodie pocket. "You could just keep whatever you really need and get rid of the rest."

"I actually have a better idea." A devilish grin started to grow across Elise's face. "A WONDERFUL idea." In the blink of an eye, she vanished. A second later, the sounds of tools and nails being hit filled the room. After a moment, the young farm girl was standing next to her teammates with her arms crossed and a tool belt around her waist. "There." She grinned, nodding forward.

"What..." Kagami blinked a few times, her hands falling from her pocket.

"...the..." Cheyenne took a step back, tilting her head with wide eyes.

"HELL!" Kris snapped, her hands balling up in tight fist as she threw her arms down.

What the three were looking at in shock and what the other was so completely proud of was the four beds, all completely stack one ontop of the other up until the top one hit the ceiling.

"So," Elise looked over at her teammates. "What ya think?

"It's um..." Cheyenne rubbed her antlers again. "It's... unique."

"It's stupid." Kris said plainly as she looked over at Elise. "Why would... what even... what the actual f-!" She was cut off, Cheyenne's hand over her mouth.

"Shhhhh!" The Faunus snapped in a whisper, her finger over her own mouth. "Let's keep things at least PG here."

The red head growled a bit, her eyes narrowing as she pushed Cheyenne's hand down. "It is still an utterly stupid idea."

"Well," Elise leaned in, pointed in the direction of the room away from the beds. "I split up that side with tape. It's divided in three equal pieces so you can't complain about my so called icky camouflage touching your precious CDs." She rolled her eyes as Kris glanced back.

The young girl crossed her arms, her jaw clenched before she sighed in a growl at the sight of camouflage in one corner, her music in another, and art supplies in between. "Fine. But if your things even so much as touch my side, I am burning it all and-" She stopped herself and blinked as Cheyenne pointed back at Kagami.

"You know, we have four people here, not three." She rubbed her antlers.

"It's fine." Kagami mumbled, putting her hands back into her pocket. "Just let me have the top bunk. I'll live."

"Oh heck to the no!" Elise snapped. "I would much rather watch a horse give birth again! That was freaking weird! The baby just stood right back up and agh!" She stopped herself, blinking a few times at Kagami who was already sitting at the top.

"Yea well," Kagami looked down at her. "I'm up here. I can see everything from up her so I'm staying."

"I said no!" She snapped, shaking her arms around as her teeth became razor sharp. "Now get down!" She started to climb up the stack of beds with narrowed eyes. "Get down!" She jumped up into the fourth bed, crouching down. "I will fight you for this!"

The jade haired girl blinked before giving a shrug. "Alright. First one to push the other off the bed wins." She slowly got into a crouch. "Stand up and we'll start."

"Fine by-!" Elise grunted heavily as she jumped up as hard as she could, her head slamming into the ceiling. She just groaned, a green and black tennis shoe slowly pushing her off the bed. She hit the ground at Cheyenne's and Kris' feet with another groan, her hands rubbing a large bump on her head.

"Thank you." Kagami glanced down before laying across the bed.

"I... don't like... you..." Elise groaned, sitting up.

Kris just blinked a bit before bursting into laughter. "I have been waiting for something like this to happen forever! That's what you deserve!"

"Hey now..." Cheyenne held up her hand. "People don't deserve anything like that."

"Yea!" Elise snapped, jumping to her feet. "It's a good thing you're not a person!" She pointed at the red head. "Because you definitely deserve a crack on the head!"

"That's not what..." Cheyenne sighed, lowering her shoulders and head.

"And you're definitely not some worthy and all caring person! Think of all the animals you have killed!" Kris took a step forward.

"Not this again." Cheyenne sighed once again.

Elise shot up on the tips of her toes, narrowing her eyes. "And think of all the air you are wasting by talking trash which I am not going to listen to!"

The brunet and red head were suddenly forehead to forehead, fingers poking at each other's chest as they gave off deep growls. Even their eyes seemed to turn to flames as their teeth became sharp. And as much as Cheyenne tried, she couldn't seem to break the two up.

"Alright." Kagami sighed, sitting up and flinging her legs off the bed. "I have had enough of this." She reached up with her right hand, grabbing the hilt of her sword as she jumped down. As she landed, she drove her blade into the floor. As she stood back up, she reached over and grabbed a spear from Elise's part of the room and spun it around, colliding it with the dull part of her blade.

Sound vibrations danced across the room, making the two yelling girls and the one trying to break them apart reach up and cover their ears. It wasn't high pitched, it was just a strange sound filled with properties that some wouldn't even say existed.

Kagami put the spear back before pulling her weapon from the ground, sheathing it as the sound stopped. "Now, stop whatever you are arguing about. You're both focused on your own opinion and won't let yourself see the other persons point of veiw."

"No one asked you!" Kris snapped at her before glaring back at Elise. "And you-!"

"And no one asked you!" Elise shot back, still rubbing her ears.

"LISTEN!" Cheyenne finally raised her voice, trying not to grimace at the ringing in her ears. For once, the Faunus finally snapped at the bickering. "Both of you shut up for a minute!"

That seemed to do better than Kagami's sword, even making said girl blinked a bit.

Kris was silent for a moment, her jaw clenched as she looked around. "None of you have any structure at all. I pity your combat school teachers."

"Combat..." The deer Faunus tilted her head.

"...school..." The young farm girl seemed completely confused at the word.

"...teachers?" Kagami raised an eyebrow, it clear she never had one before.

The red head just blinked a few times before screaming with her hands over her face. "This is unbelievable! I go my own way and get stuck with three idiots who never went to school! How the hell did you even become leader!?" She snapped, glaring at Kagami.

Shrugging, she brushed her green hair back. "I dunno. Ozpin said so?"

She just have off another scream, gripping her hair extremely tight. "I can't believe thiiiiis!" She shook her head around.

"Hey!" Cheyenne snapped again. "Shut up!" Her hands balled up tight. "If we are going to argue like this, then let's at least find a way to end it! Right now!"

"And how to you plan we do that, smarty pants?" Elise asked, putting a hand on her hip.

"Don't talk to her like that!" Kris snapped before going quiet from Cheyenne shouting.

"I said shut up!" Cheyenne snapped again, breathing a little heavy. "Just some test that will shut you two up! And hopefully prove to you that not everyone needs to go to school to be smart or strong!" She pointed at Kris before taking a deep breath. She then blinked, quickly stepping away with a faint shade of red going across her face. "S-Sorry... I-I just... s-sorry..." She gulped.

Kagami just blinked before sighing. "You people make too much noise..."

"You know," Elise smiled, holding up a finger. "I know exactly how we can settle this once and for all."

"With what, killing something and being a murderer?" Kris glared as Elise growled back.

"No. An eating contest. Papa always settled arguments with his brothers by eating since they weren't allowed to fight physically. Well... unless it was pig wrestling." She put a finger on her chin.

"So you want me to out eat you?" Her glare just hardened. "That seems completely fair. You're twice my size."

"Not how much," The young farm girl leaned down with narrowed eyes and arms crossed. "But what."

"Well what is this whay?" Her jaw clenched as she flashed her teeth.

Elise leaned back, tapping her arms a bit. "Hmmm... maybe..." She then grinned. "Whoever can eat the most of a lemon, with nothing else, is put in charge no matter what Oz said, deal?" She held out her hand.

The red head just growled, turning on her heels and heading towards the door. "Fine." She let out a huff of air, eyes locked ahead of her.

"Not even a shake! Ugh!" Elise groaned, walking out after her.

"This... is ridiculous..." Kagami muttered, walking up next to Cheyenne.

"Tell me about it." The deer Faunus sighed before taking a step towards the door. "You coming? Like it or not... I do think you're going to be a better leader than either of those two."

Kagami blinked, slowly following behind with her hands in her pocket. "You... do?"

"Yep." She glanced back with a nod. "Well..." She rubbed her antlers. "Better than either of them. And way better than me." She gave a faint smile before heading straight to the cafeteria.

In said part of the building, a few minutes later, all of team MACE was sitting at a table. Elise and Kagami on one side, Kris and Cheyenne on the other. In front of each one of them was a single lemon.

"Alright! Whoever can eat the most or finish first wins all authority!" Elise shouted, a huge grin on her face. "Ready. Set. Go!" She shouted, her and Kris already viciously peeling their lemons.

"Unbelievable." Cheyenne muttered, pushing her own lemon away. "Just unbelievable."

"Shhh!" Kris quickly snapped as she got a wedge free. She gritted her teeth, twisting it between her fingers. She then quickly shoved it into her mouth, her face puckering up as her eyes shut.

"Can't take it!? Huh!?" Elise snapped, grimacing at a mouth full of lemon. "Thought you were all and mighty oh fruit one!"

"Just because I am a vegetarian doesn't mean I eat all non meat products happily!" The red head shot back before dropping the remainder of her lemon while looking over at Kagami.

"What?" Elise asked, glancing over at the girl in green before dropping her lemon as well.

Kagami blinked as the two of them stared at her. She just slowly took another bite of her lemon which was half eaten, peel and all, and raised and eyebrow, chewing it with ease like it was an apple. "I don't see why you chose lemoms. I mean... they're not that hard to eat and help prevent scurvy and really helps your liver and bowels. My..." She trailed off with a sigh, Cheyenne being the only one to notice the look of missig someone in her eyes. "I use to have to eat one once a week." She glanced up, taking another bite.

"I give up." Elise muttered as she pushed her lemon slices and peel forward.

"I think that's the first time we agree on something." Kris munbled, doing the same with a sigh.

Cheyenne just faintly smiled, looking at the two now depressed girls, both of which clearly did not like to lose, lay their heads on the table before glancing at Kagami who finished eating her lemon with a yawn. "Told ya. You're going to be a great leader."

She just looked up and shrugged in response, slowly reaching over to grab her teammate's leftovers.

A ways away from the group, the headmaster of the school leaned on his cane, watching them with close eyes and his second in command next to him.

"They were gambling who shall be their leader." Glynda said, looking over at him. "You can't let my niece be dragged into a group of mischiefs like that, sir."

Ozpin just gave nod, gripping his can tighter. "They may seem like a terrible pair right now, but trust me Glynda." He turned around on his heels, limping off with his cane. "Their differences are going to be what brings them together."


	14. School Lessons and Life Tensions

"This is really lame." Kris mumbled in a whisper before giving a very long yawn, leaning on her hand. "Really, really lame."

Inside Doctor Oobleck's classroom, the four MACE girls were spending one of their few classes which they all had together. And while he was going on and on about history while standing in front of a board which had a map of Remnant and red string connecting pictures taped to it, Kris was just seconds from passing out from boredness.

"Hey... come on." Cheyenne whispered back, quickly scribbling down notes. More than notes actually. Everything the green haired teacher said, she wrote down. Of course it was sloppy since she had to write so fast, but later on tonight she would rewrite down all he said in much neater handwriting. "History is important. If you don't learn from it-"

"You're doomed to repeat it bla bla bla." The red head rolled her eyes, groaning a bit with another deep sigh. "I have heard that over a million times. It's so freaking boring." She couldn't help but yawn again as Cheyenne just sighed, continuing to write.

Sitting next to the two of them, Elise was gritting her teeth as she tried to take notes. Not only were they a scribbled mess of letters and words, but she wasn't getting everything down. After a while, she just sighed, giving up on trying to keep up with Oobleck's quick speaking and zooming around.

"Why's this so hard...?" She let out a huff of air, holding her head up with both her hands. "How are you doing Ka-" She stopped herself, blinking a few times at the jade haired girl who just leaned on her hand and stared at the doctor with sleepy eyes. "Um... okay then..." She just kept blinking. Slowly, Kagami glanced over at her with raised eyebrows.

"Huh? What you want?" She asked, tilting her head a bit.

"Are you... even paying attention?" She asked before yelping and falling back in her chair as Oobleck suddenly appeared in front of her and took a sip of his coffee mug.

"Who is not listening?" His eyes narrowed before he took another quick sip.

Kagami just raised her hand a bit, her fingers curled slightly. "Me."

Both Kris amd Cheyenne looked over, glancing between the two people with green hair several times before facepalming.

"And why not? Is the history of Mountain Glenn not important enough to you?" Oobleck raised an eyebrow, taking yet another swig of coffee. He then leaned forward, his eyes narrowing behind his glasses.

Kagami just sighed, leaning back in her seat. In an very bored amd exaggerated tone, she started to speak. "Mountain Glenn was the kingdom of Vale's first serious attempt at expansion. The kingdom developed an elaborate underground metro system that allowed the settlers to commute to and from the main kingdom and the new territory, thus bypassing the danger of the Grimm, while also setting up an aggressive perimeter defense that worked for a short period of time, keeping the thousands of the city's residents safe in their new home.

"However, Mountain Glenn did not boast the type of natural barriers Vale did, and as such Grimm attacks began to increase daily until inevitably they overwhelmed the city's defenses. These ever increasing attacks were partly due to the actions of Merlot Industries which worked to attract more Grimm for the purpose of experimentation.

"In a last ditch effort to stave off destruction, the citizens of Mountain Glenn took refuge in the tunnels they had initially cleared for their subways, converting them into an underground settlement and cutting themselves off from the surface entirely.

"Unfortunately, this supposed safe haven was eventually compromised when an explosion opened the mouth of another cavern filled with subterranean Grimm. This left the town completely exposed and the remaining citizens beyond saving. With no other recourse, Vale sealed off the tunnels permanently, creating the world's largest tomb. The ruins of Mountain Glenn now stand as a dark reminder for history to reflect upon."

She have a small yawn, ignoring all the eyes staring at her now. "Though... you don't seem to talk about Merlot Industries that much." She put her elbows on the desk, leaning forward to be face to face with Oobleck. "If you're not going to teach all of history, you don't need to teach any of it at all. Even people on Vytal knew that. They couldn't care less about what happened outside its islands, but they still thought it was important to know and learn from."

The doctor just stared back at her, blinking as quick as he would normally talk. The room filled with silence so quiet you could have heard a pin drop from a mile away. This girl had just summed up the whole entire history of the failed attempt at expanding Vale in a far shorter amount of time than he could ever.

After what felt like an eternity, Oobleck spoke up. "Kagami, correct?"

Said girl just nodded, sticking her hands in her hoodie pocket. "Yep. That's me."

"Who told you about Merlot?" His voice was slowing down for once as he stood up straight, taking a very small and slow sip of coffee.

Kagami just blinked a little before shrugging. "Does it matter? You seem to know a lot about it by your reaction. Surprised you don't tell students about their actions."

"I-" Oobleck stopped himself, giving a nod before taking a quick sip from his mug. "Very well." In the blink of an eye, he was suddenly back at his desk. "Now where was I." He took another drink, looking at his class just as the bell rang.

"Well it seems we are out of time for today because of someone." He gave a quick glance at Kagami before looking at the group of students. "Off you go. All of you." His eyes then locked on Kagami again. "All except you."

The jade haired girl just sighed, leaning back again. She glanced over at her three teammates who were staring at her with blank faces and rapidly blinking. "Go on ahead."

"You're... beyond weird." Elise muttered as she slowly stood up. What type of person even knew that much about something?

"She's an idiot." Kris mumbled, rubbing her face with a groan. She wasn't upset at Kagami's outburst, but more at the fact she didn't know as much as her.

Cheyenne just glanced at Oobleck before back at Kagami. "Good luck." Was all she said in a rather concerned tone before half running off after the other two.

Just as the door shut, Kagami looked forward to see Oobleck suddenly appearing in front of her while sipping from his coffee. "So what do you want?" She calmly asked.

His eyes just narrowed, locking with her's again. "A talk." Cold harsh seriousness slowly filled the air between the two of them before spreading around them.

Later that day, after lunch, the door to team MACE's dorm opened up. On the inside of it, Kris was standing between Cheyenne and Elise. All three girls had wide eyes as they leaned forward. On the other side of the door, Kagami was blinking several times.

"So what happened!?" Elise shouted, moving forward a bit more.

"Yea! Did you get in trouble!?' Kris asked, leaning forward.

"What did you guys talk about!?" Cheyenne moved closer for her antlers to just barely scrape the door frame.

"Uh... talk." Kagami just blinked, taking a step back. "That's all we did. We just talked. Nothing bad at all. He just hasn't met someone who knew as much about history as he does and wanted to have a conversation about Atlas' studies and strides in technology over the past few years."

"Oh." Elise just blinked, clearly expecting something more to have happened.

"Darn... I wanted you in detention..." Kris mumbled, raising an eyebrow at the strange looks her teammates gave her.

"You... never heard the saying, if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all, have you?" The deer Faunus asked before shaking her head. "Nevermind, I don't want to know."

"Okay then." The jade haired girl just slowly nodded as she stepped inside the dorm. "And here I thought you guys could get less strange."

"Hey! I'm not weird! I am unique!" Elise smiled from ear to ear, pointing at herself.

"I can honestly say you are something else." Kris muttered, walking over to the bottom bed.

"Please no, I thought we settled all this arguing?" Cheyenne sighed a bit, sitting down in a chair next to a desk.

"We did, and we're not fighting." Elise pointed at Kris.

Said red head just nodded. "Yep. It's true. We're just throwing harsh words back at each other."

"Until one of us, and by one of us I mean Kris, apologies for everything she has said." The brunet said, crossing her arms.

The two of them just glared at each other for a few minutes in complete silence before sighing. "Alright. This place is boring." They both said at the same tine, looking around the dorm room filled with junk but with nothing to do.

"You know, they're a lot alike." Kagami mumbled to Cheyenne who just nodded back.

"Opposites repel really well too which would make sense of their bickering." Her arms crossed. "They're too much alike. It's like putting a group of leaders in a room and telling only one of them to lead."

"Yea, I guess you're right." She just nodded back before looking over at the red head and brunet. She then took a step back as Elise suddenly appeared in the middle of the room.

"I got it!" She shouted, holding a fist up in the air. "We should go on an adventure around Vale to not be bored when we don't have classes!"

"A walk doesn't sound that bad either." Cheyenne added. "And I bet it would be really healthy for all of us." She gave a faint smile.

Kagami just blinked before shrugging. "Sure, why not. Vale seems like a pretty cool place."

"No." Kris said plainly as they finished, her arms corssed. "I am not going."

"Well we are!" Elise smiled, suddenly skipping out of the room.

"I guess we're going?" Kagami glanced at Cheyenne before slowly following behind Elise.

"I said no! No, no, no!" Kris shouted again before yelping as Cheyenne grabbed her wrist and pulled her away.

"Come on you. I bet you need sunlight. It's good for your skin." The deer Faunus smiled, her antlers gleaming in the light. How could Kris say no to that?

"Fiiiiie!" She groaned out, flailing her arms. "Just let me redo my makeup! I look ugly!"

"You look fine, Kris." Cheyenne just glanced back at the struggling girl and walked on, dragging her behind to the outside world and to the center of the city Beacon watched over.

Deep inside Vale, while Cheyenne was forcing Kris to walk around and socialize, Elise was jumping from window to window, completely star struck over anything she cpuld look at.

"Ohhh! Look at that!" She stopped at a window, pointing and waving her arm around at it. "Look at that! It's so beautifuuul!" She pushed her face up against the glass. She just shut one eye, smiling brightly at a tea set.

Said set was a porcelain white, a thin line of gold around the rims of both the cups, saucers. as well as the bottom of the lid and rim of the tea pot. On the side of the tea pot, there was a family of swans colored in crimson red on bright blue waters with birds flying above. Each of the cups had a single swan, the saucers below them having the sky with a glowing sun.

"Mama has a set sorta like this back at our house." She muttered, slowly pulling her face off the window. "Every day at two she would always sit down and have a cup. If I wasn't busy running around, I would always join her. And when papa had trouble sleeping, she'd brew this really nice smelling tea for him and he'd be out in an instant. I mean... papa could sleep anywhere except his own bed. It's kinda funny if you think about it." She glanced back at Kagami.

"So, you like tea I guess?" She asked, walking up to the window with her hands in her pocket. She grew up on tea and absolutely adored it.

"Yep." She just smiled and nodded. She then sighed incredibly long as she glanced at the price tag. "I just wish I had enough lien to buy it."

"Buy it?" Kagami glanced at her with a bit of confusion in her voice. "Why would you buy something like that when you can just make it?"

Elise blinked, looking over at her. "You think I can make that?" She pointed at the set before chuckling softly. "You're more crazy than I thought."

"What?" She raised an eyebrow. "They're not that hard to make."

"Wait..." The brunet trailed off a bit, her arm slowly lowering. "Are you telling me... that you could make that?"

She just nodded back. "Yea. Ever since I was little-" She was cut off, grunting as her partner tackled her to the ground.

With her hands on her shoulders, Elise shook her a bit. "Can you make me one!? Please!? I'll do anythiiiiiiiiiiiing! I miss warm cups of tea! Please Kagami! Please, please, please!"

"I..." The jade haired girl just groaned, her eyes turning to swirls. Taking a deep breath, she reached up and grabbed Elise. She shook her head a bit before looking up. "Okay, stop. Stop and I will make you one."

In an instant, she jumped off Kagami with a squeal. "Yeeeeeeeees! That's wonderful! And amazing! And great! And aaaaaaahhhhh!" She bounced around a bit as Kagami stood up. She only remained still for a second before Elise grabbed her wrist, dragging her off. "Come onnnn! Cheyenne and that vegan gotta be somewhere around here!"

Kagami couldn't help but smile just a bit. Sure, she didn't approve of talking to people, but not all of them were that bad. Including this girl that is.

A few blocks away, Kris was groaning as Cheyenne pulled her down the sidewalk by her hood. And even though people were staring, it seemed like Kris seemed to be more embarrassed than Cheyenne.

"Will you stop struggling." The deer Faunus mumbled. "Look at the scene you are causing. All we need to do is find Elise and Kagami so stand up straight and walk."

"Or you could have let me put my makeup on." She grumbled, her arms crossed with a bright red face. "I look like trash. And everyone is looking at my face. And I'm ugly. Just so ugly." She groaned more, reaching up and rubbing her face with her hands. "Please let me redo my makeup..."

"Kris," Cheyenne glanced back, smiling softly. "I told you that you look fine. Trust me, okay?" She looked forward again, still dragging the small girl behind. "So stop complaining and start walking. Pleeeaaase?"

The red head just groaned, grumbling some words to herself before slowly standing up on her two feet and taking a few steps. "If anyone walks up to me and looks right at my face, you're dead." She blinked a little, looking up at those antlers that towered above her. "Well... Maybe you're dead. You're antlers are really pretty."

Said Faunu' face went a deep shade of red. She quickly turned around, facing forward before taking several quick steps. "C-Come on! Hurry up already! I am not letting you walk on your own and be slow at it!" Ever since she was little, compliments on her Faunus heritage always made her blush.

Kris just blinked, tilting her head some. "Was it... something I said?" She raised and eyebrow, quickly taking steps to follow behind her.

A while later, Elise jumped to her feet and pointed across the road. "Found 'em!" She called out.

Kagami just glanced over, watching Cheyenne wave from the other sidewalk while Kris just death glared. "Well... they seem to be having fun." She blinked, looking over at Elise who shrugged.

Cheyenne and Kris waited a few seconds before crossing, letting the cars past by. Once back together, Cheyenne moved her hands behind her back and held them tight. "So... how do you guys like Vale?"

"It's a nice city." Kagami mumbled, though honestly, she could have stand with less buildings and a lot less air pollution.

"They have so many pretty things!" Elise screeched, her hands together as she jumped up and down slightly. "I am going to buy them all one day and take them back home for my parents! I... just need the lien first... then maybe I could buy one thing..." She blinked a little before sighing.

Kris just blinked a little before tilting her head. "You... can't tell me you're THAT poor." All the attention was suddenly on the small girl. She slowly reached up, grabbing her hood and pulling it over her face. "Don't look at me like that!"

"Huh?" Elise blinked, looking over at Cheyenne.

Cheyenne just sighed, pointing over at Kris. "She's freaking out because she doesn't have the so called, right makeup on or something. I'm not for sure. But she doesn't want to be looked at."

"I LOOK UGLY!" The small girl cried out, hiding her face in her hands. "I LOOK COMPLETELY LIKE TRASH!"

"Uh..." Elise had a blank face while holding up her hand. "I... nevermind." She shook her head. "Anyway," She looked up at her two other teammates. "Who wants to go swimming!"

"Do you ever stop wanting to do things?" Kagami asked, glancing over at her.

"Yea," Cheyenne blinked. "I mean, I get not wanting to do nothing, but how fast does your brain move?" She raised an eyebrow.

She just blinked a few times before shrugging. "I dunno. But we should do something else. I'm bored of walking already."

Kagami just sighed, shaking her head softly. "Wow. Just wow."

"You're telling me." Cheyenne added. She just sighed, shrugging a bit. "Alright then, what shall we do then?"

"And preferably not swimming." The jade haired girl added with her hand up. "I can't swim and don't feel like drowning."

"You... can't swim?" Kris slowly pulled her hood down, blinking several times at Kagami.

Said girl's face just grew a faint shade of red before she quickly looked away. "No... not exactly. You see..." She trailed off, taking a deep breath. "Nevermind. I just can't swim."

The four stood in silence, all blinking for a while before stumbling from the sound of something exploding in the distance.

"Holy..." Kris looked up at the sky, seeing smoke fill the air.

"That's in the direction of the train tracks." Cheyenne mumbled. "Some wheels may have skipped the track and there might have been a wreck."

"All in favor of going and checking it out?" Elise asked, glancing back to the three others.

"I second you, but this is the only time." Kris said. She may be an immature child and she may hate the whole idea of being a Huntress, but still, like most other people, she didn't want to see anyone die. Even if humans were dumb and worthless in her mind.

Cheyenne just raised her hand with a nod. "People may need help. Whoever is there could use as much assistance as needed." Not only that, but there was also the fact it could have been a White Fang attack. If so, she felt too obligated to go help.

"Are you coming or what?" Kagami asked, already running down the sidewalk towards the smoke.

All three girls blinked, titling their heads before sprinting after her.

"Hey!" Elise cried out, flailing her arms.

"Wait up!" Cheyenne shouted, her hands cupped around hed mouth.

"Or slow down, damn it!" Kris snapped, already panting a little. They just had to run there. She just couldn't be a bird and fly there.

"Well how about you hurry up!" Kagami called back, moving her hand and motioning for the three of them to move faster. "Fire isn't going to put out itself!"

Kris just groaned, her jaw clenching. She just took a deep breath, bolting after her most likely insane leader.


	15. The God Of Grapes And Wine

"Dion!" A small Faunus with mouse ears shouted, sprinting through a train car before jumping into the next one and continuing. She was lucky enough the train was no longer moving but it was very unfortunate for her on why it had stopped.

She gave a yelp, ducking down as a blast shot over her head. "Dion! Help! Please!" She glanced back at the giant death machine behind her before sliding behind a large wooden crate. There, she panted heavily. As she looked up, she saw a shirtless man with long messy purple hair in a pair of purple cargo shorts. "Dion..." She mumbled, trailing off.

"That's Mr. Ysus to you young lady." Said man mumbled, balancing a row of bullets on his arm. With his other arm, he reached out and ruffled her hair. "Now ask again, sweat heart."

Giving a faint groan, the Faunus looked up at him. "Mr. Ysus, there's-" She was cut off, claws coming around the crate hiding the two. It was then tossed away, wood splintering as weapons flew everywhere. At the same moment, the row of bullets on Dion's arm slowly shook before falling off.

The shirtless man was suddenly on his feet and glaring, his hands balled up tight. "Hey! The hell is wrong with you, you damn hunk of junk!" He shouted before blinking as a red dot appeared on his forehead. "Oh. Hello there." He lifted his hand, poking at the dot.

"D-Di-Mr. Ysus!" The White Fang member shouted, taking several steps away.

In a monotone voice, the machine spoke up. Its face lighting up with red flashes as it did so. "Intruder. Identify your-" It was cut off, a giant spear made of ice flying straight through its main body and out the back with ease.

With a black glove on his right hand and a round circle which was glowing a bright blue on the back of it, Dion was glaring as harshly as he possibly could. "Don't screw with me." He mumbled, clenching his hand into a fist as he lowered his arm down. "And don't you DARE put that bright and hot ass light in my face again!"

"Um... Mr... Mr. Ysus...?" The small girl gulped, slowly raising her hand. "Wolf and Fang are hurt up in the front. When the wheels skipped the track after we threw the crew off, the front car flipped over really badly and it has them trapped inside and it's smoking and I think one half is trying to catch on fire and-" She stopped, blinking. "Mr. Ysus?"

"Huh?" The man with purple hair glanced over, his gloved hand forming a shirt of ice around his chest though he didn't seem to shiver at all. "What happened now?"

"I..." She gave a long sigh. "Nevermind."

"Hey," He looked over, cleaning out his ear with his pinky. "Did you guys take enough weapons off this thing?"

"We... were going to drive it away and into a place farther away from the city so we could drop off the weapons and have them picked up. But since the train messed up we can't and-" She was cut off again, lowering her head as Dion started talking again.

"Well just take the damn guns off this stupid train now and carry them back to the base." He mumbled, yawning as he stretched his arms.

"Um, Mr. Ysus, how drunk were you when she was telling you what to do?" The Faunus asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I wasn't drunk at all when she asked me!" He snapped, his muscular chest flexing and cracking the ice around him. "She made that little brat call me! I was half asleep after taking a good swig of wine when the brat did so! Not her!"

She just sighed, slowly shaking her head. "Mr. Ysus... I... I don't even know now." She shook her head, jumping a bit with a yelp as an Atlasian Knight kicked a door down and barged inside with several others behind. "Actually I do know now! Please stop them!"

Dion blinked, looking back at the girl standing behind him before shrugging. "Kay." Was all he muttered, putting on another black glove with the same circle. Both circles began to glow, swords made of ice forming in his palms.

On the outside of the train, a little ways down from where the last car was, Cheyenne was helping a bleeding crew member lean up against a tree. "What happened?" She asked, already knowing the answer to it but asking anyway.

As he groaned, a man who Elise was helping lifted his head up slowly. "The... White Fang... they..." He coughed. "... they came out of nowhere... and attacked... and raided all that they could... they didn't seem... to mind Dust like other attacks... they wanted... weapons..." He coughed more, spitting up blood as Elise layed hin down.

"Hey, relax. You are fine now." Said farm girl mumbled, looking for the main cause of bleeding. "Try not to move so much. You'll lose less blood." She licked her lips before biting them. "Hey Kris, do you have anything that-" She blinked a few times, looking at where Kris and Kagami once stood. She then looked ahead, seeing the two jumping inside the train. She just gave a sigh, looking back down and the conductor. "Alright. Just relax, I can do this on my own." She looked over at Cheyenne, her eyes screaming for help.

"Okay... um..." Said deer Faunus looked around before taking off the man's belt. "Use this to help stop the bleeding." She mumbled.

With a nod, Elise reached over and pulled the belt off the conductor. "If it hurts, I'm sorry." She said quietly, taking a deep breath.

Inside the train, Kagami jumped down with a faint grunt before standing. Hearing a thud behind her, she turned back. "There was only two crew members that you saw, correct?"

With a nod, Kris brushed herself off. "Yep. And Cheyenne and Elise have them. They'll take good care of both of them."

"Got it." She nodded back, looking forward. A second later, she was jumping from the inside of one car to the next.

With a groan, the red head quickly followed behind. "Slow down!"

"How about no?" She glanced back, grinning a little. "I've told you before, run faster."

She gave another deeper groan, gritting her teeth extremely tight. "I hate you!"

"I know you do! You say it at least everyday!" She called back, unwillingly smiling just a bit. That small smile though quickly vanished as she jumped into the next train car, skidding to a stop as a robot flew right past her and smashed into a wall completely destroyed.

Kris gave off a half scream, almost stumbling into Kagami. "Why did you stop!?" She shouted at her leader before her eyes went a bit wide as she looked around. Spread all throughout the car was several Atlasian Knights damaged far beyond repair. As she looked up at he other side, she spotted a shirtless man who was stretching his arms and a Faunus girl who was talking on the scroll.

"That's right. The railway from Vale City to the east." The Faunus nodded to her scroll. "You'll see the smoke. Just hurry..." She slowly hung up, looking over at Kris and Kagami. "Um, Mr. Ysus?"

Dion gave a nod, sighing slightly. "Yea, yea, I see them." He cracked his neck while stretching the muscles. "And here I thought I was done with all this working up a sweat."

On the outside of the wrecked train, Vale police started to show up. Each and everyone of them glancing at the mess before at each other and talking.

"Think it's the White Fang again?" One with a beard asked, holding up a gun.

"Probably. Only they'd be stupid enough to crash a train after hijacking it." His partner, a much larger officer replied as he walked up closer. He then spotted Elise and Cheyenne along with the two crew members. And then he saw the red.

"Hey!" He looked back, hands cupped around his mouth. "I need a medic over here!" He called out, rushing over to the four of them. Before he could even ask what had happened, Elise looked up and spoke.

"This guy gots several broken ribs. Maybe a few fractures here and there. And also as really deep cut on his right bicep." She pointed to said arm which had the man's shirt wrapped around it was well as his belt to keep it from bleeding out too much. "He should be fine, it's the one Cheyenne is tending to that you need to worry." She pointed over to her teammate.

"I wouldn't say you shouldn't worry about both of them..." Cheyenne mumbled. "But... he does have a pretty bad stab wound in his side." She glanced over at the officer. "I did my best to stop the bleeding, but he's still losing a lot of blood."

"Right, right." He nodded, pulling out his scroll as he began to speak quickly. As he did so, a pair of medical technicians showed up with large boxes.

Elise and Cheyenne both stood up, Elise quickly explaining what had happened, or what she knew had happened. There was then another explosion so loud it shook the ground.

Elise struggled to keep her balance, looking over at the front of the train which had just burst into a giant fireball. "Come on!" She shouted, grabbing Cheyenne's wrist. "Kagami and Kris probably have the back, we should get the front!"

"Huh?" Was all the deer Faunus let out before yelping as she and Elise vanished.

Inside the train, Kris grunted as she held her candy cane weapons like tonfas, blocking each blow from the mouse Faunus who swung a giant sized hammer around. It was something else to see the Faunus cowaring behind Dion and then the next acting like a crazy version of Harley Quinn. Not like anyone in the world of Remenant knew who she was though.

"Weren't you hiding behind that guy a few seconds ago!?" Kris snapped, grunted as she was pushed back against a crate. She glanced up, quickly ducking down and rolling out of the way as the hammer came smashing into the crate, sending splintered wood everywhere,

"That's because we were fighting robots." The mouse Faunus said plainly with a twisted grin. "I don't get to hear robots scream but I know little stinking human girls do." Her grin only grew worse as she swung her hammer around again.

Even though she brought her weapons around to block the large weapon from striking her, Kris was sent flying from the sheer force of the blow. She hit the ground, tumbling a bit before groaning. "Why you little..." She shook her head, pushing herself up to her feet. She clicked a button on her candy canes, spikes flying out of the bottom ends. "That hurt."

As she charged forward, Kagami brought her sword around, locking her blade with that of a blade of ice. "You know," She pushed forward, half smiling up at Dion as he pushed back down towards her. "You're not that bad."

"Trust me," He growled out, pulling his sword made of ice away as he jumped back. "I am just getting started!" He held up both his hands, a large spear forming between them. "Take this!" He shouted, tossing it straight at her.

Taking a deep breath, she let some of her jade hair fall in front of her face as she raised her sword up. She waited until the weapon made of ice was extremely close before bringing her sword up. She let out a faint cry, slashing the blade through the air. Sparks flew off of the ice as it split in two, perfectly falling apart around her before shattering. She gave a faint smile, standing up straight she she jerked her head to get her hair out of her face. "Tell me you can do more than that?"

Dion growled deeply, his fist clenching so tight that it hurt. "Wht you little piece of..." He growled more, his gloves slowly being glazed over with ice. When he went to hold up his fist again, they were covered in boxing gloves made of ice. "You're going to die!"

Before Kagami could say anything, the large chunk of ice rammed into her and set her flying back. At the same moment, Kris was struck with the large hammer and sent backwards. Both girls hit each other in the back, hitting the ground with a thud.

"Damn... it..." Kris groaned, rubbing her head a bit as she looked up. "Hope Cheyenne and Elise are having more luck."

"Yea..." Kagami gave a nod, slowly standing back up as she shook her head. "Do you have a cool plan by chance? Because I don't." She sighed, glancing back.

"Nope." The red head responded, sighing back.

At the front of the train, Cheyenne and Elise were helping injured White Fang members out of burning cars. Both girls were already covered in soot and ash, in dying need of a shower.

"You think Kagami and Kris are having this much luck?" Cheyenne asked as she gently layed a large Faunus with claws instead of finger nails down. She couldn't help but sigh, feeling bad for the unconcious person.

"Yea..." Elise trailed off, clapping her hands together as she stood and looked back at the burning car. "Hopefully." She looked back at Cheyenne with a smile. "I'm sure they'll be fine. Now come on." She just motioned towarda the train as a few more policemen showed up. "Now let's go. There is probably plenty more Faunus in there."

"Oof!" Kris let out with wide eyes as the mouse Faunus' hammer drove into her stomach. She groaned deeply as she fell to her knees, coughing heavily. "Alright... now I'm pissed off." She grumbled, standing back up with a tight grip on her weapons.

"Awwww," The Fanus tilted her head. "Did that hurt? It sounded like it hurt. I hope it hurt." She grinned, resting the hammer on her shoulder as she put a hand on her hip. "I wanted to hit you hard enough so you would throw up though. Maybe you're just that strong. Or maybe I'm too weak?" She tilted her head, shrugging.

"Shut up!" Kris snapped back. "I have had enough of you!" She twirled her candy canes around, placing them on her back as she unzipped her hoodie. "So it's time for you to be quiet!" She took a deep breath as she shut her eyes.

"Awww, what? Is the little baby getting grumpy?" She chuckled, twirling her hammer before charging forward. "Here! I'll help put you to sleep for good!"

"Shut up." The small red head said plainly, inhaling deeply again. Suddenly, each and every one of her little toys in her inside pockets started to move out from them and either onto the floor or into the air. Each one of them having a faint red or green gowl.

"Huh?" The Faunus paused, tilting her head at the small objects heading straight towards her. "Oh! Target practice!" She suddenly grinned, swimming her large weapon around to strike an airplane flying at her. When it made contact, it exploded in a bright white light which made her stumbled away. She blinked, shaking her head as she looked at the planes, cars, helicopters, and motorcycles. "Aw poo." She muttered.

There was suddenly several small and miniature explosions. With heavy breathing, Kris opened her eyes and dropped down to her knees. "Okay... okay... never again... do not do that EVER again..." She panted, placing her hands on her knees as she looked over at the Faunus.

She was out cold, smoke and dust rising off her while her hammer was slightly burning with the flicker of a small flame.

"Well..." She mumbled, taking a deep breath. "At least that's over..." She looked over at Kagami. "How are you doing!?" She asked, leaning back to catch her breath.

"Could definitely be better!" She shouted back in response, dodging between a few arrows before slashing one with her sword. When the arrows stopped, she panted softly and glared at Dion who was glaring back at her. Rather than panting though, he was sweating like crazy. He was sweating like he was in Vaccuo with Mantle clothing on.

That wasn't what caught Kagami's attention though. What did was his weapons, his gloves. They weren't much. Just some gloves inhanced with technology from a, most likely, stolen Atlas facilities. All it did was allow him to control Dust. In his case ice Dust which seemed to be all he used. Besides the fact that the ice was poorly constructed and easy to break, the gloves seemed very familiar to her. She glanced down at her hands, staring at the fingerless black gloves and the black rings. She just shook her head, holding up her sword with narrowed eyes. There was no time for this.

"Okay you." Dion's eyes narrowed as he started to walk in a circle, Kagami doing the same to him. His eyes narorwed, a small smile forming. "Listen kid, how about we make a deal. You let me walk off, and I promise I'll leave you alive. Fair enough? I don't feel like getting blood on my hands yet." He flashed her a smirk.

She just rolled her eyes with a sigh. "How about no and I just kick your butt and you end up in jail and I go back to Beacon."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk." He shook his head as he stopped walking. "You should have taken my deal, young lady." He started to smile like a sadist while his hair brushed over his eyes.

She couldn't help but give an amused smile, holding her sword up higher. "Do you really think you can win? I've broken every weapon you made of ice into tiny little pieces. We're just going to keep going like this."

"Not exactly." He shook his finger, the circles on his gloves glowing once again. "They may all be shattered, but that doesn't mean I haven't thought things through. A sword can only cut so many things at once and so tiny of things." He grinned as Kagami slowly lowered her sword.

Before she could say anything, Kris shot to her feet with wide eyes. "Kagami!" She took one step forward, her arm outstretched.

Kagami just slowly looked around at every shard of ice she had shattered, watching them slowly rise up and form a dome around her. "Oh crap." She muttered, her sword lowering more as her eyes slowly went wide. Even though she couldn't see, she knew Dion had a smug look on his face. She glanced down at her hands once more, at her rings. She shook her head, gritting her teeth as she crouched down and put her hands over her head. "It's not worth it..." She mumbled to herself, her eyes going shut as the pieces of ice flew straight at her. She heard Kris shouting her name once more before she felt pain.

Then everything went black.


	16. Shattered Glass

Slowly looking around a corner, Kagami gripped the edge with her green hoodie sleeves covering her hands. She gulped slightly, peaking in a bit further. She knew this moment far to much but it still felt like it had never happened before. It was a strange feeling, not that of forgetfulness but of never happening. .

"She's a disgrace! Worthless! She was always a trouble maker since the day she was born!" She heard her father shouting. "Now the forsaken Atlas soldiers won't even let me tend to my field without questioning me or having me leave!" His voice only grew louder and louder. "She's brought dishonor upon us all! My father and his father before him for centuries have lived here with no such nonsense like this! And then that... that ungrateful child had to show up and bring all the negative attention straight towards us!"

"Aza... please." She heard her mother speaking softly. "She is your daughter. She-"

"She is NOT my daughter anymore!" He snapped back at her.

Kagami took a deep breath, gripping the corner of the wall tighter. Her father always had anger issues. They were just so compressed by tea and meditating that no one ever got to see him when he was angry. He was able to keep his life as normal as ever because of how caring and compassionate her mother was. Sure some yelling happened every now and then when he was stressed from work, but that was as far as it ever went. Well, up until Kagami decided to snap on the soldiers.

"You can't deny that she has your blood in her veins." Midori spoke with a calming voice. "No matter what she ever does, no matter how many traditions she breaks, she is your daughter. I know she is... different than other children around here, but please, understand she is trying to do better. The army around here is just making it difficult for here. Please understand, honey. Please. Please listen."

"No! You listen to me!" His voice roared through the air. There was then a loud smack that caused Kagami to jump, her fingers digging into the wall as she peaked around it a bit more. There, she saw her mother with her eyes shut a red handprint on the side of her face.

"That delinquent is NOT my daughter and does NOT have my blood!" Aza went on, his chest rapidly falling and rising as he pointed at his wife. "She is a mistake! I am not living with someone who can't even learn what it means to uphold traditional values!"

"Aza," She slowly looked opened her eyes, looking up. When she did, she spotted Kagami in the background. She blinked once, slowly shaking her head no before looking down. "Please. Don't be like this." She was speaking to Kagami more than her husband and her daughter knew that.

Kagami took a deep breath, her father going off again. He was such a hypocrite and was definitely one to talk. She wanted to walk up to him and punch him as hard as she could, even if she did love him more than anything. But the look in her mother's eyes made her do nothing of the sorts.

Instead, she turned around, wincing at the still sore scars across her back. As she did so, she found herself standing at the seashore with wide teary eyes as she held a beautiful crafted sword in her hands. In front of her, her mother was kneeling down and holding her shoulders tight.

"I... I don't understand..." She gulped, gripping the weapon in her hands extremely tight.

"Kagami..." Midori brushed her daughter's hair out of her face, quickly looking back to hear the sound of footsteps in the forest behind them. "I know it's difficult to take in all at once, just try to make sense of it. Try to make sense of the gift I have given you but also the terrible curse that it holds. You were born to fight, not sit around here like this all the time. I understand that now. I use to be someone called a Huntress. I had the best three friends in the world. We did everything together and I told them the legend of us, of our ancestors. But one of them got killed. I ran away here to get away from the violent world outside of this island. I came for peace and quiet." She sighed, lowering her head as the footsteps came closer. She quickly pulled her daughter into a hug. "This isn't the life for you though and if you stay, those soldiers or the people here will run you out. Times are changing, Kagami. This place isn't going to stay perfect forever."

"So why can't you come!?" Kagami snapped back, more tears swelling up in her eyes and blurring her vision.

"Because," Her mother looked up, giving a soft smile as she reached up, brushing her thumb across her daughter's face to wipe away tears. "As much as it pains me to say it..." She chuckled softly to herself. "I'd rather stay here. People are going to need help later on if Mantle keeps things up like this, then there is no denying an outbreak of something like war. People will need help."

"But... mom..." She sniffed, rubbing her right eye with her elbow. "Mom..."

"Kagami, please." She quickly stood up, pushing her forward as the foots came too close for comfort. "You need to go. Now. Before they come."

"Mom... I don't want to go..." Kagami munbled softly as she stumbled towards a small raft made of logs. "Mom..."

"I know you don't." She ruffled her hair softly, nudging her daughter onto the raft and sitting her down. "You'll be fine. I promise. Just remember, you're strong. You're a fighter. You're a warrior. And most importantly..." She gently shoved the raft, it gliding across the sand before it bounced in the water. "Remember you're my daughter." She reached out, gently holding her daughter's hand with a smile, choking back tears.

"Mom..." Kagami gripped her mother's hand as tight as she could before her grip started to loosen. Soon enough it was just their fingers interlocking. Then fingertips and then nothing but air. "Mom!" She shout, her vision too blurry from tears to see Midori's face. "Mom!"

"Be good... become someone who can change the world..." Midori mumbled, waving softly.

"Mooom!" Kagami cried out again, jerking a bit before freezing. She gulped as hard as she could, gripping the logs of the raft tight. She couldn't swim. She had never been able to swim. And at the moment, that was seriously coming back to bite her.

"Make sure your back doesn't get infect!" Midori shouted, her hands cupped around her mouth a towns people came out with farming equipment in their hands. She just glanced back at them, sighing softly.

Kagami's eyes went wide, moving to the edge as her heart started to pound inside her chest. "Mom! Stop it! Mom!" She shouted, watching the people she grew up with pull her mother to the ground. Her tears slowly trailed down her face, falling into the ocean and causing small ripples. She shut her eyes, inhaling deeply.

When her eyes opened, she was laying on the shoreline of another set of woods. She groaned softly, rolling onto her back with a grunt. She blinked a few times before her eyes once again went wide. She gulped, her body going stiff with fear.

Next to her, a small Ursa cub was curled up next to her and sleeping like a baby. It seemed peaceful. Nothing like the ones who attacked Atlas soldiers. This one was calm.

She gulped softly, glancing over at the sword her mother had given her before back at the Grimm. She slowly sat up, tilting her head. She glanced at her sword once more before sighing.

She couldn't do it. Not to something defenseless like that. It wasn't fair to it, even if it didn't have a soul.

So instead she slowly reached over, petting the head softly of the creature. Its eyes opened slowly, the red glowing orbs piercing into her soul. But instead of attacking, it just shut its eyes, yawning before drifting off again.

"Same here buddy..." She mumbled, leaning back before laying down. She yawned herself, wincing at her back just slightly before her eyes went wide once more. In front of her, stalking up towards her with a growl was a much larger Ursa, presumably the one in charge of the cub next to her. Her heart began to beat rapidly again as she glanced at the small Ursa to the bigger one and then her sword. She reached out for it, looking at the larger Ursa as it lunged at her. Her eyes widened more before she gave off a scream.

Kagami quickly sat up, gripping the blankets on a bed. Her breathing was rapid as sweat slowly trailed down the side of her face. She took several deep breaths before sighing deeply as her head lowered down.

"Are... you alright?" Elise asked.

Kagami quickly looked over, seeing her three teammates all standing and looking at her. She was on the bottom bed of their tower of beds at the moment. She just shook her head slowly, reaching up and rubbing her face softly. "I'm fine... I'm just fune..." She muttered before she froze. She quickly pulled the blanket off her with wide eyes.

She wasn't wearing her hoodie. She was wearing her usual green t-shirt.

Her head quickly snapped to her team. "Where's my hoodie!?"

"Um... here..." Cheyenne reached over, grabbing the green hoodie and tossing it to Kagami. In the blinked of an eye, Kagami had already slipped it back on and was laying down.

"I... have the worst headache ever." She mumbled, reaching up and rubbing her head.

"Well you were pelted by like a million shards of ice." Kris held out her arms as Cheyenne slowly pushed her down to the floor with one hand.

"You're lucky nothing cut you, aura or not." Said deer Fanus said, stepping a bit closer.

Before Cheyenne could continue, Kagami perked her head up. "Wait... you checked me for any wounds?" She raised an eyebrow, sitting up slowly. She pulled her sleeves down across her arms with a faint gulp. She felt her heart punding a bit, not from her dream.

"Well duh." Elise mumbled, slowly walking up next to the bed, leaning with her hands on the bed above. "Once that pruple haired dumb ass ran off and Kris unburried you from all that ice, you were out like a light."

"Or you know," Kris grinned, walking between Cheyenne and Elise. "We could say she was out cold." She smiled before yelping as both girls pushed her down onto the floor.

After that, Elise looked back at Kagami. There was a look of concern all over her face. "Those scars on your back... what are they from?" She leaned in a bit closer.

She looked down, letting her jade hair fall in front of her face with a gulp. Her hands immediately went to fiddling with each other. "They're nothing. They're just there..." She trailed off, taking a deep breath before feeling a hand being placed on her shoulder.

"Hey, it's alright." Cheyenne gave a small smile. "We all have things from our past that haunt us. I know I do."

"You do?" Kris looked over at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Y-Yea..." Cheyenne rubbed the back of her head a little shyly. "You see... a year ago... I may or may not have been... a part... of-the-White-Fang." She spoke the last part as quick as she could, looking down as she did so.

Elise just blinked a few times before giving a smile. "That's great!"

Both Kris and Cheyenne leaned over, staring at the brunet and blinking rapidly. "Huh?" They both said at the same time, completely lost.

"What?" Elise gave a shrug. "That means she knows a lot about the WF and could give us details on everything. We could use that information to take down more villains!"

Cheyenne just blinked a few times before looking over at Kris with a raised an eyebrow. "Did... she just called the White Fang the WF?"

"I think so..." The small red head had a raised eyebrow as well, looking back over at Elise. "She does have a good point though." She looked back up at Cheyenne. "I mean, how much do you know?"

She shrugged back at her. "A decent amount I guess." She didn't even know how much she knew really. She just knew a few things here and there.

"Can we get back to the point." Elise pointed over at Kagami.

"Right." Cheyenne looked over at said girl. "Where did those scars come from?"

Kagami just sighed, glancing over at them. "It's a long story. And..." She sighed again. She had never told anyone anything, but some part of her told her that she could trust these people. She couldn't trust them all that much though. "Where I grew up..." She took a deep breath, looking up at the three of them. "Where I grew up, there was heavy oppression of Atlas soldiers. One day, I had enough of them and attacked one. It didn't end very well for me as you can see."

When she finished, the three girls were staring at her and blinking softly.

"You know, my parents never liked people like that anyway." Elise said with a faint smile. "We live out in the middle of nowhere on a farm so no taxes for us to pay." She chuckled softly. "Wait." She went serious, waving her hands around. "Don't tell anyone that! Mama will never shut up if we get thrown into the same jail cell!"

Kris just rolled her eyes, crossing her arms. "Authority is lame anyway. I use to spray paint Atlas' robot drones that keep watch. But then I had to get caught one stupid time." She kicked the floor with a pout. "Had to get Perrywinkle to smuggle me in CDs to listen to for three months."

"And I grew up in a small town filled with Faunus because we were pushed out of Vale by Atlas soldiers." Cheyenne pointed at herself. "I would prefer not to get anywhere around someone in a metal armor."

Kagami just blinled a few times at them before smiling ever so slightly. They weren't that bad. They really weren't. Unlike other people, they seemed to actually care about her and didn't judge. She just smiled a little more, laying back down on the bed. "So, I guess it is unanimously decided." She gave a yawn, leaning back before stretching her arms out. "We all don't like Atlas soldiers."

"Hey." Cheyenne smiled a bit and perked up. "I think we're all agreeing on something for once." She smiled a bit more. "All four of us agree. Me, Kagami, Elise, and Christmas. We all finally actually agree."

"Kris..." The small red head groaned out, her arms crossed as she narrowed her eyes at the Faunus.

"Oh boy." Kagami mumbled, rolling over onto her stomach and pulling her blanket over her head.

"Hey, don't act so snippy at Cheyenne." Elise took a step towards Kris with her finger out. "Christmas IS your name."

"So!?" The small girl snapped, jumping up to glare eyes to eyes with the farm girl. "I can call myself whatever I want!"

"And so can I!" Her eyes narrowed back. "So I'm going to call you a a tiny little midget bi-"

"Guys! Come on!" Cheyenne interrupted, pushing the two girls apart from each other. "How about we don't bicker anymore today? I'm tired."

"She started it!" Elise snapped, glaring at the red head.

Said girl growled a bit. "Did not!"

Kagami took a deep breath, pulling the pillow over her ears with a sigh. Even though she was greatly annoyed with it all, she couldn't help but smile at the three of them. They may be completely different, but they were her teammates. They were her friends.

Meanwhile, in a hidden and darken part of Vale, Dion was pacing back and forth in front of a an empty space which should have been full of crates of weapons.

"Those damn brats!" He snapped and even though he was shirtless, he was sweating all over. "I don't even know who the hell they are but damn them!" He turned to glare at a wall, bringing his bare foot back before kicking the wall with the ball of his foot. As he pulled his foot away, part of the wall cracked away and crumbled.

"Oh come now, Dion." A witch like voice muttered, sending a chill down his spine.

He quickly turned around on his heels, gulping a bit with his hands out. "Hey now, I thought you weren't going to come here until the Festival started." There was a clear sign of panic in his voice as he took a step back.

"I was... but then I was told how you were failing." A pink haired woman came out of the shadows, checking out her nails with a bow and quiver on her back. "You told Thanaton that you had everything under control."

"I-I did! I did have everything under control!" He quickly said back to the woman as a purple haired young lady stepped out of the shadows by the woman.

"He did say he had it all under control." Thanaton mumbled, her arms crossing. "Not so sure if he meant it."

"C-Come on!" Dion moved his hands back and forth. "V-Val...?" He trailed off, noticing the gold color in her eyes. His breath quickly hitched. "I-I mean Valentine! Valentine! I swear it was all under control until those stinking Faunus messed up and these little dweebs got in the way!"

"So you didn't have it under control?" A third voice said as a young man, the same exact age and twin of Thanaton stepped from the shadows, his shaggy blue hair hanging down over his face slightly as he held his hands in his pockets. "You were to confident in yourself and messed up when things went south."

"Nill has a point." Thanaton pointed over at her brother with the nickname she had given him years ago.

"C-Come on, Nihilus!" Dion took another step away as Valentine narrowed her golden eyes at him. He gulped, taking another step as his back pressed up against the wall.

"Dion, listen to me." Her eyes narrowed more as she reached up to cup his cheek.

He weakly chuckled, his hands up as he glanced at her hand. "Y-Yes?"

"Do not let it happen again." She trailed her finger arcoss his cheekbone before down his neck. "The three of us are going to stay here for a the rest of the time so nothing like this happens again." She pulled her hand down, stepping back towards the two twins. "Is that understood?" She tilted her head.

Dion quickly nodded, gulping ever so slightly. "Crystal clear. Crystal..." He gulped again.

"Good." Valentine smiled, her eyes gleaming in the light. "Because She will get very upset if both Cinder and I mess up. She's already annoyed enough that Cinder has had a few run ins."

He just quickly nodded back, licking his lips a little. "Got it."


	17. High Voltage

"Three queens." Thanaton munbled, laying out three cards of a queen of spades, dimonds, and clubs. She gave a wicked grin, leaning back in her chair with her arms behind her head. "Top that, Dion." She licked her lips as her purple eyes flickered in the dim light of the room.

In a small room inside a warehouse, there was a square collapsible table with three metal folding chairs around it. Thanaton, Dion, and Nihilus all playing poker.

"Beat that huh?" Dion leaned in, running one hand through his messy hair. "Let's see." He let his chest muscles flex a bit as he reached over to grab a bottle of vodka. "Top those three the ladies, hm?" He held the neck of the bottle up to his lips before he tilted it and started to chug it like it was water. After a moment, he slammed the bottle down along with three cards of his own. "Three kings! I believe that deems me a winning!"

She gave a deep groan, her eyes narrowing more and more with each passing second. Her head quickly snapped over to her brother. "You better put down something nice."

"Huh?" Said young man glanced up, his hand holding up his head by his chin. "What?" He raised an eyebrow before leaning back. He blinked a few times few before glancing down at his cards. "Oh yea. Right. We're... playing this why exactly?"

"Just put your cards down already." His sister mumbled, kicking him under the table. "Come on, Nill. Put them down."

Nihilus just sighed slightly, laying them down with another sigh. "I don't get the point of this." He muttered.

"You surely know how to play though, kid." Dion said, blinking rapidly had the Royal Flush he had just put down. "Even when cheating, I never get that as easily as you just did."

He just stared back more confused before sighing. "Whatever." He munbled, slouching down as he blew some of his shaggy dark blue hair from his face.

"Always so grumpy, Mr. Grumpy." Thanaton said, kicking him under the table again. He actually flinched this time from it. "Why don't you just play for once and try to have fun!?"

"Because there's no point in this." He reached down, rubbing his shin. "And there's no point in kicking me either."

She rolled her eyes, leaning back into her seat with a sigh. "Mr. Apathetic."

"Ms. Hype." He responded, only to flinch as he kicked her again. "Okay! Damn it! Stop!"

"Children..." Dion mumbled, glancing back as he heard the door open. He gave a faint chuckle as he saw pink. "Well if it isn't the Pink Princess."

"Shut it, Dion. Unless you want to lose your tongue?" Valentine flashed him a sinister smile which quickly silenced him. She stepped closer, her hips swaying back and forth with each step. Besides the demonic look in her golden eyes and pure hatred across her face, she was actually rather pretty.

She wore a light pink, mid-sleeve shirt with a single slit cut into each sleeve and then tied back together by a hot pink string around the bicep. This was underneath a hot pink vest which only had the bottom button closed to show her shirt underneath. She had a pair of high rise pink shorts with faint gold trimming all around underneath a pink leather mid-calf cloth which had gold trimming as well. Around her waist was a black towel, tied loosely with two leather belts with pouches filled with Dust crystals. She had black ankle boots with straps keeping them locked in place and light pink stockings that rose up to her mid-thighs with black straps around the rims with a pouches filled with Dust as well. Her hands, covered in fingerless black gloves sewed to black leather cuffs which were buttoned with two golden buttons. And as always, her pink bow and pink quiver were on her back, a pink strap across her chest that held her quiver. She had a beautiful hourglass shape, her hips sticking out like white on black. Her light pink hair always flowing like the wind even though it was straight. She was stunning, monstrous or not.

"I'm good." The shirtless man said, quickly looked down at the table with a gulp.

"Good." She purred before sitting down on said table, crossing one leg over the other. "Now, Roman-" She was cut off, blinking a few times over at Dion who spoke up.

"That wannabe criminal is nothing!" He stood up. "He's nothing but a creepy pervert! At least I don't go after girls who are under eighteen!"

"Not to mention the men you go after." Thanaton chuckled, glancing up at him with wicked in her eyes.

"I-" Dion glared at her for a moment, going silent. After a moment, he snapped. "At least men don't blabber as much as you!"

"But they don't have booooobs~!" She wiggled her eyebrows, her hands motioning around her chest.

"Than... Thanaton..." Nihilus mumbled, glancing over at his sister. "Why don't... you know what, nevermind." He shook his head with a sigh.

"Quiet!" Valentine snapped, rubbing her face. "Our allies are busy with a Dust raid tonight. They have been running into trouble lately. I want you three watching the streets with other White Fang members to try and make sure no one, especially nosey Huntsmen and Huntresses show up."

Thanaton grinned, glancing over at Nihilus. "Hear that bro? We get to go out finally."

He just rolled his eyes, standing up. "Yea, yea." He reached down, picking up a sheathed katana that was leaning up against the table. "Let's get this over with."

In the city of Vale, walking through the streets were four girls who were, even though nick picking at each other constantly, slowly coming together to form a group of friends that only time could test.

"You know, the stars are really pretty tonight." Cheyenne mumbled, her hands in her pockets as she stared up at the night sky. "The moon is looking as pretty as ever too."

"Too bad the city lights ruin most of the good looks." Elise glanced over at her. "At my farm, we're so far away from the city that we can look up at the sky and see every star possible. It looks like someone sprinkled powder sugar all over a black blanket. It's really pretty." She smiled at the memories of sleeping out under the night sky with her father in nothing but a sleeping bag. "You guys should come there and check it out sometime."

"You think your parents would let me?" She looked over at her. "I mean... they won't try to shoot me for my antlers like you did, will they?"

The young farm girl's face went a bright shade of red before she quickly went to rubbing the back of her head with a faint chuckle. "Y-Yea, sorry about that, you know. I didn't mean to try and shoot you. I just sorta... you know... went off of instincts..."

"Let me go to your family farm, and I might forgive you." The deer Faunus smiled a bit.

"Or we could just stop going outside." Kris mumbled in. "It's all humid and sticky and everything and bla." She stuck her tongue out, pointing a finger to the back of her throat as she made a gagging noise. "People are terrible."

"Why are you even complaining?" Kagami glanced over at the young red head. "You got to put your makeup on. It took you who knows how many hours, but you got it all on. And now we are stuck taking a walk at night."

"Not my fault all of you are fine with looking like trash while out here." She grumbled, her arms crossing."

"Excuse me," Elise held up a finger. "I don't look like trash. I look amazing, than you very much."

"She has a point." Kagami pointed at Elise while looking at Kris. "Makeup just covers up insecurities and let's people pretend to be someone they're not. I mean... if people were suppose to be born with green eyelids, I'm pretty sure we would have been born with them."

"I agree with that." Cheyenne added, pointing over at Kagami. "That sounds about right."

"That's not all it does!" Kris snapped, waving her arms around. Before she could speak though, she stumbled from an explosion coming from the docks. "Huh?" She glanced over.

"That... didn't sound good." Elise mumbled, seeing smoke start to rise up. "Doesn't look good either."

"Well," Kagami glanced back at the two before giving a faint smile. "Since we're out here." She started to smile before grinning.

"Well," Cheyenne patted Kris' shoulder. "Hope you're ready to run again."

The small girl blinked a few times before sighing deeply. "I hate all of you." Was all she let out before giving a long and deep sigh.

While the four of them bolted away, none of them seemed to pay attention to the dark figure watching them from the rooftops. The figure slowly stepped away into the shadows of the night, a second later going from roof to roof after the girls.

"Hurry up!" Elise called out to Kris who was a few paces behind, panting heavily. "I swear, I am going to kill all of you! Why can't one of us get a motorcycle or something?!"

"Because-!" Cheyenne started speaking then skidded to a stop as something, or rather someone, jumped down in front of her.

"Whoa, whoa whoa!" Elise cried out, stumbled to a stop as Kris and Kagami slowed down. She just blinked, staring at the person in front of them that was hidden by shadows.

"Listen, you aren't going to go any further. So I am going to say this once." Nihilus munbled, stepping out of the shadows to show his red and white zipper hoodie and dark blue jeans with armor plating. "Leave. Right now." He pushed up the sleeves on his hoodie, reveling armored forearms. "You have one chance. Make the right choice."

Kagami blinked once, glancing back at her teammates. "All in favor of leaving?" Each of the three girls held their thumbs down, glaring over towards him. "Well, that settles it." Kagami looked back at him. "We're not leaving." She took a step forward, drawing her sword as her teammates took out their own weapons.

"Wrong choice." He said plainly, reaching down for the katana handle. When he pulled it out, the four girls all lowered their weapons and tilted their heads as they blinked.

"What?" Kris mumbled, staring at what should have been a deadly weapon but was just the hilt of such. "So you don't even have a blade?" She sighed a bit before smiling with a grin. "That's fine be me." In a split second, she was bolting straight towards him.

"Wait! Christmas!" Elise shouted with a hand outstretched, only to flinch at the harsh glare Kris shot her for calling her by her real name.

"I warned you." Nihilus said, crouching down a bit as he gripped the handle tight in his right hand. He reached into his pocket, glaring at the small girl who lept up into the air with candy cane weapons above herhead. With no emotions on his face, he shoved a Dust crystal into the bottom of the hilt. A moment later, a katana blade made of yellow along with sparks dancing around it shot from the handle.

"Nice trick! But it's not enough!" Kris snapped, blades comng from the ends of her weapons as she brought them downward.

He just calmly brought up his blade, locking it with her twin weapons. The metal in her weapons quickly picked up the charge from his blade, sending a current throughout it and into her body. Kris gave off a scream as she dropped her weapons. She quickly stumbled back, shaking her hands which had faint sparks dancing from them.

"Ow... ow ow ow ow!" She shook them before looking up. Her eyes went a bit wide as she saw Nihilus bring back his blade, slashing at the air. As he did so, a yellow crescent shot through the air and at her. "H-Hell!" She screamed, shutting her eyes. She expected pain, but nothing seemed to come.

Instead, Kagami jumped in front of her, slashing at the yellow energy with her sword. Rather then eletrocuting her, it cut it straight in half. The two pieces separating and hitting the ground on either side of Kris.

"It's an even a more wrong choice to attack my teammates." Kagami mumbled, her eyes narrowing.

"Suit yourself. You've had your choice." Nihilus said before running straight at her. He brought his blade back, swinging it at her.

Kagami did the same, their blades clashing and causing sparks to fly all around. Unlike with Kris' weapons though, the electric seemed to stay inside the blade itself.

He blinked once, eyes narrowing a bit. "That's a new one."

"What?" Kagami couldn't help but give a playful smile. "Never seen a sword conformed by magic?" She whispered the last sentence only for him to hear.

He blinked once again, a faint look of confusion coming across his face.

That was her opening. She quickly shoved him back before sliding a foot under his feet.

He gave a faint grunt, rubbing the back of his head before jumping up to his feet. "You've made a terrible mistake." His eyes narrowed as he twirled his blade.

"Didn't you already say that though?" She smiled at him just as a few gunshots were heard.

Nihilus head quickly snapped to the side, seeing Elise and Cheyenne firing several rounds at him. He gave a soft groan, his dark blue eyes flashing gold. Cheyenne's blasts and Elise's darts suddenly hit nothing but the side of a building, all traces of him gone.

"What?" Kagami lowered her sword just a bit before grunting as something hit the back of her head. She quickly fell to the floor. As she turned around, a foot collided with her chin. Before she could do much else, her sword was kicked straight from her hand away.

As she looked up, she saw Nihilus panting softly like he had just done some great task. "No more of this." He brought his katana up, slashing the air in front of her.

Kagami gritted her teeth as she saw yellow energy launched at her. She quickly shut her eyes, arms crossing across her face. She grunted at first, a tingling sensation all over her body. Then it turned to nerve wrecking pain as she cried out.

Nihilus just looked away, glaring at the two who were shooting at him earlier. He didn't even seem to care about what he had just done. There was no sign of joy or amusement at all. But there wasn't a sign of remorse or sorry either.

"Oh shoot." Elise mumbled, taking a step back. She gripped her marksman riffle tight.

"No kidding." Cheyenne added, trembling ever so slightly.

With a deep breath, the young farm girl did all she could think of when she saw Nihilus slash the air and send the same attack at the two of them as he did Kagami. She shoved Cheyenne as hard as she could away, letting her stumbled into an alley. She felt her heart racing before she quickly shut her eyes, expecting the worse.

But it wasn't her turn to scream.

She looked over as she heard a much smaller and high pitched scream come a bit in front of her. As she did so, she couldn't help but blink several times.

Barely standing, Kris was trembling with sparks jumping across her chest. She gulped deeply, glancing up as Nihilus started walking up towards her. She couldn't helpbut fall to her knees, her arms wrapped around her body with shaky breaths.

He just started down, gripping his katana with both hands while the blade pointed down at her neck. "I told you, you made the wrong choice."

Kris' green eyes went wide with fear. But before she could scream and before Nihilus could deliver the fatal blow, a camouflage blur tackled him straight to the ground. She blinked slowly, her body falling onto the ground, with blurred vision, she saw Elise ontop of Nihilus before she saw her light up in yellow and give off her own scream. Kris just groaned, slowly shutting her eyes as everything went black.

With an agitated groan, Nihilus pushed Elise's unconcious body off him with little care where it landed. "Damn it." He groaned again, standing up as he brushed himself off. He glanced over at Cheyenne who was shakily holding up her Atlas riffle. "Do you really want to do that?"

With a trembling grip, she slowly nodded back to him. At that moment, she squeezed the trigger and sent off a blast. Her eyes then went wide as her shot seemed to complete miss Nihilus by a mile. "Wh-What...?" She took a step back.

Nihilus took a step forward, panting a bit like his aura was running low for some odd reason. "Wrong choice." He mumbled, slashing the air at her.

The deer Faunus yelped, shutting her eyes tight. She only opened them as she felt something run past her. She spotted a glympse of green before she looked forward.

In front of her, Kagami was breathing heavy as she drove her blade into the ground. She knelt down on one knee, gripping the hilt of her sword tight as the eltric energy shot straight into it, absorbing it like it was nothing.

She slowly glanced back at Cheyenne, standing up. "Get... get Elise and Kris and run." She mumbled out.

Before she had a chance tocrespond though, Nihilus spoke up. "You're kidding, right?" He tilting his head. "To be honest, you had the chance to run. I probably wouldn't have even saw you do so. You could be long gone from here and safe, yet you choice to stay here and let others flee?"

"Wh-Who said I was fleeing?" Cheyenne asked with a gulp, gripping her gun tight.

He just shook his head, an hand on his forehead. "Now that's even more stupid. Having the chance to save yourself and not taking it."

"It's called sticking by your friends." She snapped back, a lot harsher than she normally would.

Kagami just glanced back at her, smiling just a little as she looked back at Nihilus. Friends stuck by friends. She never really had one, and she always assumed the four of them were, but hearing Cheyenne say it out loud was something else in its own way.

"It's ridiculous, that's what it is." Nihilus said, twirling his katan before regaining a stance. "It's a terrible choice that will cost you your life."

"Fat chance." Kagami mumbled back, barely able to stand as she gripped her sword tight. "You'll have to get past me to kill her... to kill my friend..." She blinked, watching Cheyenne walk up to her side.

"And you'll have to go through me before you touch her." She held up her riffle, aiming it straight at him.

"This is idiotic." He mumbled, his eyes slowly narrowing as his grip tightened on his hilt. His eyes mainly glaring towards Kagami. "There's no point in fighting, you can't win. You should have ran and lived while letting these worthless excuses for a human being die. Save yourself while letting trash be trash. Not that all of you aren't trash. You're mere existence is horrible. Our existence as living beings is awful!" He snapped, charging at the two.

Cheyenne took a step in front of Kagami in a protective way, and even though Kagami was happy to have her, have all of them as friends, she still didn't trust anybody with her life. Not yet at least. So she, even though she could barely stand, bolted forward as well with her sword raised.

"Kagami!" Cheyenne shouted, fear and concern filling her voice as she ran after. Not like she did much though.

Nihilus and Kagami just clashed blades over and over again. Sparks dancing all around them. Kagami was clearly given the lower hand though. Her strength failing her fast and faster while Nihilus only seemed to pant.

Finally, he managed to shove her down. Kagami grunted, the wind being knocked out her her lungs. She coughed several times before going stiff at the electric Dust blade a hair from her neck. She gulped deeply, her chest rapidly rising and falling. She then flinched as a large blast suddenly struck Nihilus in the back, making him stumbled away with a groan.

Kagami looked up, seeing Cheyenne holding up her Atlas riffle in its second form with the larger barrel. She couldn't find the words to say thank you, so instead she lowered her head back down to catch her breath.

Nihilus growled deeply, shaking his head as he glared back at Cheyenne. He gripped his katana tighter, reaching in his pocket for another Dust crystal only to pause as he heard his scroll going. He blinked once, grabbing it and pulling it out.

"Yea?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. "Right now? I'm in the middle of something... okay, even if he is done and someone messed with the heist, I'm about to-" He gave a faint sigh. "Alright. Understood. I am coming back now, Thanaton." He shut off his scrool, sticking it back in his pocket. The yellow blade of his katana vanished as he sheathed the hilt. "Consider yourself lucky." He mumbled before vanishing into the night.

With a shaky breath, Cheyenne lowered her weapon. "Really lucky..." She mumbled before slowly walking over to Kagami and kneeling down next to her. "You alright?"

"I could be better..." She mumbled, breathing softly. "A lot better..."

Cheyenne just nodded, glancing over at Elise and Kris who were still both unconcious. "They saved each other." She smiled a bit, looking back down at Kagami. "And what in the world is that sword of your's made out of?"

"Nothing..." She mumbled in response before opening her eyes as she stared up at the star covered sky. "And you know what I have learned so far? We suck at being Huntresses and taking down villains..." She softly chuckled.

"Yea, we really do." She smiled a bit, sitting on the ground with a sigh. "But that's why we're are Beacon. To get better."

Kagami just nodded, staring up at the broken moon before shutting her eyes.


	18. Ground Rainbow

Sitting in their dorm roon, all of team MACE was taking in the silence around them. Both attempts made by them to help knock out villains had ended in disaster. Cheyenne had no idea that it would be this difficult to give people the better life they deserve. Elise never imagined that she would be coming up next to so much hardships while trying to adventure out. Kagami just never expected for things to be as hard as they were right now. And Kris, Kris couldn't have been becoming more and more upset with it all. She needed to prove to her mother she could do her own thing. But with constantly losing like this, how could she ever do that?

With Kris and Elise sitting on the lower bed, Kris finally let out a long groaning sigh. She covered her face with her hands, falling backwards onto the bed with a faint umph. "We are completely terrible." She muttered, rubbing her eyes.

"I agree." Elise added, staring down at her boots with her back arched forward. Her fingers slowly fiddled around with each other as she shut her eyes and sighed. "We're awful Huntress in training."

"We are zero for two." The red head lifted her head and glanced up. "We completely stink at this. I don't understand how none of us have been seriously hurt yet. It's pure luck."

"At some point though," Cheyenne finally chimed in with a sigh, sitting on the floor with her legs crossed. "Our luck is going to run out."

"And when that does, we're all going to be officially screwed." Kagami mumbled, sitting on a chair next to a desk. She was staring up at ceiling, leaning back a bit. She gave a sigh, looking down as she arched her back forward. "Maybe we should stop this and just stick to classes before one of us get actually hurt. Or worse."

After that, there was a long pause of silence. No one spoke. The birds outside didn't even seem to chirp at their window. The wind seized it's current as the trees began to become still. Neither of the four could even try to say they weren't terrible at going after criminals. Even if they were first years, others seemed to have much better ending situations.

The gut wrenching silence stood still for what felt like an eternity before Cheyenne slowly lifted up her head. She blinked a few times, staring up at Elise and Kris.

"Since when do you to save each other rather than murdering each other?" She asked, tilting her head some up at the two.

Kagami herself glanced up at that, looking at said two teammates. "Yea... that was a little unexpected. Even from you two."

Both Kris and Elise went stiff, their faces going a pale white before they tinted a faint shade of red. Kris immediately sat up, holding out a finger.

"I was just doing the responsible thing! That's it! No more!" She snapped quickly, her chest quickly rising and falling.

"And I was just returning the favor!" Elise shot out even quicker than Kris had.

Both of them clearly were hiding something.

"Uh..." Cheyenne blinked, tilting her head the other way. She slowly glanced over at Kagami with a raised eyebrow.

Kagami just blinked back, shrugging at her before looking back at the two. "So... what happened between the two of you that we missed?"

"NOTHING!" Both girls snapped at the same time, jumping up onto their feet with hands balled up in tight fist. Their faces each another shade darker.

"It's something." Kagami said, lookig over at Cheyenne.

Said deer Faunus just nodded slowly. "Yea, you guys wouldn't be acting like this if it wasn't."

"Shut uuuppp!" Kris put her hands over her ears and shut her eyes. "Nothing happened!"

"Well something happened." Kagami gave a faint smile and leaned forward. "And as your leader, I demand to know what."

Elise groaned softly, glancing over at Kris before at Kagami. "It was two days ago."

"No!" Kris shot in. "It was three!"

"No! Two!" The farm girl snapped back.

"Three!"

"Two!"

"Three!

"Two!"

"Get to the point!" Kagami shouted, loud enough that it made even Cheyenne flinch.

With a long sigh, Elise's head lowered as she sat down on the bed. "Several days ago then... I was in the school library."

A couple days before, Elisevwas searching through book shelf after book shelf. "Come on... come on... you have to be here somewhere... come on..." She put her finger on the edge of each book, checking the name and author. Finally, she saw one with the author's name of Roy G. B. V. Her face lit up like nothing ever before. She reached out, grabbing the book with a strong grip.

She blinked as she started to pull it out, realizing how it seemed to be stuck. She let off a silent groan of irritation, pulling harder on the book. On the other side of the book case, Kris was gripping the exact same book, her feet braced up against the shelf as she pulled.

At the end of the shelf, a librarian blinked, scratching the back of his head at the two. He just shrugged, turning around to push a cart away.

"Come on!" Elise groaned out.

Hearing her voice, Kris yelped, letting go of the book.

Knowing the yelp all to well, Elise did the same.

Both girls fell on their butts, rolling over onto their stomachs while rubbing their behinds. "The hell..." Kris grumbled, slowly standing up.

"I should ask you the same, Short Stacks." Elise mumbled, pushing some books to the side as she glared through a hole straight at the smaller girl.

"Shouldn't you be rounding up some victums of yours by now?" Kris hardened a glare straight at the farm girl.

They both growled at each other for a moment before stopping. They both blinked, looking over at the librarian who was on Kris' side of the shelf.

"Here." He said, holding out a duplicate of the book the two of them had been trying to get. "So the two of you can both read it." He handed it to Kris before quickly nodding and scurrying off.

"Wait..." Elise slowly looked over at the book Kris was holding then at the one she had been trying to grab. Her head quickly snapped back to the red head as her eyes went wide. "You read Rainbow Time Dancers too!?"

"Yea..." Kris slowly nodded. "Well, I've watched the whole series, I thought I might as well start reading it." She blinked a bit before her head shot up with just as wide eyes as Elise. "You watch Rainbow Time Dancers!?"

"No..." Elise munbled. "We don't have a way to watch it back on my farm so my mama would always read the stories to me."

The two of them just stared at each other through the hole made between the books for several seconds. Suddenly, both their eyes turned into bright yellow stars as they gave off loud fangirl squeals.

In a matter of seconds, the two of them were sitting down at a table with bright smiles on.

"Roy is the best, isn't he!?" Elise let out, her hands waving all around.

"Yeeeeeees!" Kris put her hands on her face. "I love how they made him the Narrator in the show!"

"Quick!" Elise held up a hand with a smile. "Favorite member of the Rainbow Six!"

"Easy!" She slammed her fist down onto the table. "Jacklyne Lantern, the great and powerful girl who can turn back time with the snap of her fingers! She could go back in time and fix anything she wants! And she always has her friends call her Jack because she is tired of people thinking because she is a girl and not a man that she can't do anything!"

"No way!" Elise shook her head. "Pi Kelz is the best! She doesn't take crap from anyone! You make fun of any of her friends and she will send you so far into the future that there will be nothing there!"

The two of them went on for at least an hour before they both suddenly broke into song.

"Rosa Buds, their fearless leader! Jacklyne Lanter, better call her Jack or she'll punch you in the weiner! Lem Eon, the slow one but quick thinker! Pi Kelz, the master mind behind it all! Sky Bird, the one who messes up but learns what she's done wrong! And Ami Thist... she's just the lazy one. Rainbow Six! Together as one! Fight for what is right till the battle is won! Stretching their friendship all across time! Don't worry, have no fear! The Rainbow Time Dancers, are heeeeere! Doctor Darkness has no chance, when he fights up against the best six friends!"

The two of them broke into heavy laughter, Elise holding her stomach while Kris rubbed her eyes. Rainbow Time Dancers were originally made for children under ten, but both of them seemed to adore them more than anything.

"Wait," Elise quickly shot her head up, blinking rapidly at Kris. "We can't tell any one about this. If people find out..." She trailed off, a shiver going down her spine as she trembled.

"You're right... I'm sure others would laugh like mad if they knew we watched a kiddie show." Kris sighed slightly before smiling up at Elise. "You wanna go watch some of the show though? Perrywinkle bought the whole series for me when my mother was a bitch on my thirteenth birthday."

"Yeeees!" The brunet squealed, reaching over and grabbing Kris' wrist as they bolted out the door.

Back in the present, Kagami blinked slowly. "Okay... um..." She looked over at Cheyenne, not knowing what to say.

She seemed just as lost for words too it seemed. She shrugged slowly, glancing over at Kris and Elise who's faces were both a deep shade of red.

"Okay, you know what?" The girl with jade hair finally stood up with a sigh. "I need a walk on that one." She started to walk out, only pausing as Cheyenne spoke up.

"Don't get yourself in any trouble, alright?" The deer Faunus said, glancing over at the other two who lowered their heads with dark clouds of gloom above them. "I still don't want to be stuck with them alone..." She whispered, looking back up at her.

She just nodded, smiling a bit before walking out.

On the streets of Vale, Kagami kept her hands in her hoodie pocket as she walked past people putting up signs for the Vytal Festival. She couldn't help but sigh softly. None of these people knew what Vytal was like now a days. It was no wear near the island they would call peace anymore. She took a deep breath, glancing away from the people on ladders and across the street.

She paused, blinking several times. On the other side of the road, she saw Cheyenne, or who she thought was Cheyenne, in a tan tanktop with white pants on and short boots that barely went up to her shins. Besides that and the dark brown beanie covering her head, she looked exactly like her teammate.

"Wait! Hey!" Kagami looked both ways before bolting across the street after her. "Cheyenne! Hey! I thought you were staying the the dorm with Kris and Elise!" She caught up, reaching out and grabbing her shoulder. As she spun around with a shocked expression, she noticed the faint bit of lip gloss and eyeliner on the girl. "Since when do you put make up on? And more importantly, since when do you hide your Faunus heritage?" She reached up, grabbing the beanie and pulling it off.

At that, the jade haired girl froze and blinked rapidly. "Huh...?" She mumbled out, staring at the top of the girl's head which didn't have antlers. How was that even possible? This had to be Cheynne. It looked exactly like her! Aside from the antlers that is.

"Um..." The girl took a step back, tilting her head with a raised eyebrow. "Prac! Fid! Fif!" She called out, her hands cupped around her mouth.

Kagami blinked as three large shadows casted over her. She looked back, seeing three large and over weight boys with rather hideous noses glaring down at her with crossed arms. The three of them all looked exactly the same, even down to the hairs on their chins. "Uh..."

"This little girl bothering you, Maya?" The middle one said, eyes narrowing down at Kagami.

"Yea." The girl nodded, patting down her head. "She took my beanie. Mom made that for me before I left for Haven."

"She did, did she?" The first one spoke up, narrowing his eyes.

"We don't take nicely to people who take things from others." The last one said, cracking his knuckles.

"Okay..." Kagami sighed, rubbing the back of her head. "Listen, this is just a big misunderstanding which I can't figure out how or what even but if you let me explain, it will make sense." She pointed back at Maya. "See, she's on my team and... yea... that isn't helping." She sighed, her shoulders dropping down. Maybe she should just stop trying to take walks. Every time she did such, even if it was with her team, they ran into trouble. Always.


	19. Seeing Double

Giving a faint sigh, Cheyenne was looking in the mirror of the bathroom in her team's dorm. She stared at her reflection for a while before slowly reaching up to rub the glass where she saw her antlers. She slowly moved her hand down, letting it slid to the edge of the mirror before pulling it back.

She took a deep breath, quickly shaking her head. "You can't fix that Cheyenne. You are the way you are. No changing any of that at all. What you can do is change other lives with people who deserve better." She took another deep breath, glancing up at her reflection again.

She reahed up, touching the small crescent moon necklace she had. Her parents couldn't give her much as a child, but what they did give her was this tiny charm. It couldn't have been worth more than half a lien, but she still loved it more than anything.

"For you guys." She muttered, her fingers wrapping around it and holding it tightly in her right hand. "I'll make other lives better since I couldn't help you guys out enough." She took a shaky breath, turning on her heels and walking out of the bathroom.

On the sink, she left her scroll behind. Said electronic suddenly started going off, Kagami being the one calling.

"Hey guuuys!" Cheyenne let out, looking over at Elise and Kris. "Kagami has been out for a while, should we go look for her?"

"Naw." The young red head mumbled, holding a deck of Rainbow Time Dancers trading cards. "I'm sure she's fine." She suddenly grinned, laying a card down.

"Yea." Elise nodded back, her eyes narrowing with a grumble at the card that was placed down. "Darn you..." She mumbled, her jaw clenching as she herself set a card. "But you just fell into my trap!" Her expression suddenly lit up as she flipped another card over.

"Whaaaaat!?" Kris' eyes went wide as she was taken aback. "No! How!? Why!?" She grumbled, grinding her teeth together. She glanced down at her scroll, quickly picking it up. She immediately went to typing not so nice words in a way to get her aggression out.

"I... don't think those are appropriate words." Elise muttered as Kris gave off a scream, tossing her scroll up to the top bunk of their tower of beds. Once it landed, Kagami started to call the device.

"Um, okay?" Cheyenne tilted her head, staring down at the two of them and at the cards. "So, what exactly are you playing?" Her head tilted the other direction. "And how exactly are you playing it?"

"It's not that hard, you see," Elise was suddenly standing behind Cheyenne whom was now holding a few cards. "Here is your attack, defense, trap, summon," She started to rearrange the position of each card. "I usually have mine in power order from weakest to strongest." She smiled, putting her hands on her hips as she stepped to the side. "There. Perfect hand. You're welcome."

The Faunus just blinked a few times, staring at the cards before looking over at Elise. "What?"

She sighed back, lowering her shoulders. "Nevermind." She mumbled. She then suddenly flinched at her scroll vibrating. "Huh?" She raised an eyebrow, pulling it out.

As she did so, Kris slowly reached over, peaking at Elise's cards.

"Hey!" The brunet snapped. "The hell do you think you are doing!?" She shot the red head a glare as she opened up her scroll.

All three girls jumped then flinched at the sound of their leader yelling from it.

"DO ANY OF YOU IDIOTS EVEN CARE TO CHECK YOUR SCROLLS!?" Kagami shouted at the top of her lungs, panting softly. The sound of fire seemed to roar from the device. "SERIOUSLY!?"

All three girls blinked before Elise suddenly shouted back. "Are you fighting someone!? I thought we all agreed on not getting into trouble for a while!?"

"THIS ISN'T MY FAULT!" She snapped in a harsh tone before yelping as the sound of ground cracking. "NOW SOMEONE PUT CHEYENNE ON!"

"Um..." Cheyenne took a step back, quickly shaking her head no. She smiled softly, crisscrossing her hands while shaking them in a way to silently say no.

Elise blinked a few times before nodding with a smile. "Right. Cheyenne says she isn't here at the moment."

Kris blinked once before facepalming with a deep sigh. "Way to go dumb nut." She rolled her eyes, her hand lowering.

"WILL SOMEONE JUST PUT CHEYENNE ON!?" Kagami shouted, ducking down as high speed water shot over her head. She let out a quick breath, standing up quickly. "Listen, boys," She held up her hands at the the giant triplets wielding water, earth, and fire. "Just give me a minute to explain things."

Prac just narrowed his eyes, large rocks floating around him. "I understand exactly what happened."

"Yes," Fid let fire dance at his fingertips while taking large strides forward.

Fif just let water swirl around him in circles, eyes locked on Kagami. "You tried to rob Maya."

"And we will not," Prac cracked his knuckles before cracking his neck.

Fid let his flames grow hotter. "Let you get away with that,"

"Or so help us and out family name!" Fif finished, the circles of water spinning faster.

"Um..." Kagami stood up straight, holding out a hand. "Hold up. Do you three always talk like that?" She lowered her arm. "Finishing each other's sentences and everything?" She raised an eyebrow. "Because it's already really old."

"Um so... Kagami?" Cheyenne whispered up from her scroll.

The jade haired girl blinked, looking down at her scroll. "Hold on," She held up her hand to the three brothers. "Cheyenne?"

"Yes...?" Her voice came out slightly timid.

She took a deep breath, suddenly shouting at the top of her lungs. "GET YOUR BUTT DOWN TOWN! ACROSS FROM THE DUST SHOP THAT WAS ROBBED!"

"Kay!" She yelped, quickly hanging up.

Kagami just sighed back, quickly putting her scroll in her pocket. "Okay." She looked up at the boys who were standing above her with harsh glares. She sighed again, shoulders dropping. "Can we please talk this out?"

"No," Prac sent a swarm of stones at her.

As he did so, Fid shot waves of fire at her. "We,"

"Cannot!" Fif snapped, sending in streams of water.

"Oh for the love of..." Kagami trailed off, sighing ever so slightly.

Walking down the streets at a rather quick pace, Cheyenne was heading straight towards where Kagami had said to go. "Hurry up!" She shouted back.

Kris groaned, waving her arms. "I'm sorry I'm short! I do not have long legs like you!" She snapped.

"It's not just you being a half pint." Elise mumbled. "She's walking pretty fast."

"I heard that!" The Faunus responded. "Kagami just seems like she is going to strangle me if I don't hurry! I don't know about you, but I would hate to be the one to set her off!"

"Yea, yea." The farm girl muttered as the three of them rounded a corner.

As Cheyenne ran around, she suddenly bumped into someone and grunted heavily. The two of them both landed on the ground with a grunt, identical grunts.

"S-Sorry!" She quickly pushed herself up, rubbing her antlers with her eyes shut. "I'm kinda in a hurry and-" She stopped herself, staring into what seemed like her own eyes.

"Whoa..." Maya mumbled, her beanie already back on her head. "You look... exactly like me... but with antlers..." She sat up a bit, slowly tapping at them. "Are those real?"

"Y-Yes..." She muttered back, waving her hand in front of Maya's face. "Are... you real?" She raised an eyebrow.

"I..." She glanced down at herself, dusting off her clothes. "I think so." She reached up to her neck, pulling on a necklace with a sun shaped charm. It was a force of habit when she got nervous which rarely ever happened. "I mean, I think I'm real."

"What the hell?" Kris muttered, staring at the two of them on the ground sitting in front of each other. "How the hell?" She looked around quickly. "More so, what the hell!?"

"You have me completely stumped, vegan." Elise reached up, scratching the back of her head. "Because I'm completely lost from this too."

"See!" Kagami quickly waved her hand from behind some rubble. "I tried to tell you three doofs that there was two of them! But nooo! No one listens to the stranger who mistakes someone for being her friend!"

The three of them all glanced back, blinking several times. The three elements that they were controlling suddenly fell to the ground with thuds or vanished into thin air. In a split second, they were suddenly kneeling down in front of Kagami.

"We're so sorry!" The brother who could control earth quickly said.

The one who created fire quickly speaking up next. "We didn't know!"

"We hope you can forgive us!" The one who wielded water finished.

"Okay!" Kagami was pointing at then, waving her hand around with one leg up. "Can someone make them stop!? I'd actually prefer them to be trying to kill me instead! This is way too weird for me!"

"Okay..." Elise took a small step back. "I... think I'm going to go...?" She took another step back before pausing as Kris looked up at her.

"I say we stay and watch." She held out a hand filled with candy. "I want to see how this plays out."

The farm girl just blinked a few times before shrugging softly and sitting down on the sidewalk. "Alright." She took a few pieces of the sugar delights.

"Someone make them go away!?" Kagami shouted, swinging her hand around at the three boys like they were bugs trying to bite her. "Pleaaaaase!?"

Her cries fell on deaf ears as Cheyenne and Maya stared at each other, blinking softly. Neither of them knew what to say. They were just studying the features of each other, of themselves. Besides the antlers and the beanie and clothes, they were exactly the same. Even down to a small moles on their necks on the right side. Most of all though, the two were staring at each other's necklaces. The moon and the sun.

"Where... did you get that?" Maya finally spoke up, pointing at the crescent moon.

"I..." Cheyenne gulped, looking down at it. "My parents saved up enough moeny to buy it for me when I was born. I've always had it with me." She gulped again, reaching up and holding it extremely tight. "Did... your parents give you your's?"

"Yea well... sorta..." Maya glanced down at her necklace that her hand gripped. "You see, I never knew my birth parents. I was adopted by this real nice family when I was just a couple weeks old." She looked up slowly. After a moment of silence, she took off her sun charm. "Can I see your's?"

"Y-Yea..." Cheyenne muttered out, quickly taking off her necklace and holding it out towards her.

With a shaky breath, she did the same. The moon and the sun connecting with each other like they were made together. This made the two sit frozen for what seemed like forever, the outside world not phasing them at all.

Finally though, Maya spoke up again. "Where were you born?" She glanced up.

"Natus." The Faunus responded with a gulp.

Staring at her with more concerning eyes, she tilted her head. "The village of Faunus with no where else to go. Mom says she got me from there. There were these people, a Faunus guy and a human woman, they had a child, a human child and couldn't take care of her. They wanted to give her a better chance. So they let mom take me in and raise me..." She blinked softly. "I... mom never spoke about them having another child."

"When's your birthday?" Cheyenne finally spoke up to ask a question.

"Zero two... twenty nine..." Maya started, trailing off as the girl in front of her took over.

"... one one eight one...?" She muttered, her voice going extremely quiet.

The two stared at each other in silence again, completely ignoring the cars driving past on the road. This couldn't be real. This had to be a shame of some sorts. They wanted to believe it was, but deep down, both of them knew the truth.

"You know," Elise mumbled, tossing a red dot into her mouth. "I bet our lives would make a great television show. Or at least a pretty cool story."

"Keep dreaming." Kris rolled her eyes, looking over at the brunet. "They would probably stop watching or stop reading because of your sorry excuse for a character."

"Hey!" She snapped a bit. "I'll have you know I am a wonderful character! My personality is second to none!"

"Sure thing Meat Head." She responded, nodding softly.

"Can someone PLEASE get them to stop bowing at me!" Kagami shouted, clinging to the top of a lamp post. At the base, the triplets were all bowing down. "It is officially freaking me out and has gone way too far!"

"Please! On the honor of our family!" Prac started off.

Fid quickly took up where his brother stopped. "On the honor of the Varken family!"

"We ask for your forgiveness!" Fif finished as Kagami tightened her grip on the lamp post.

"Someone please just make them stop!" She shrieked out. "I really don't like this! Someone! Heeeeeeeeeelp!"

Cheyenne and Maya just ignored the six around them, staring at each other as much as they could. After an eternity passed, the one in the beanie held out her hand.

"Maya Borealis." She mumble, clenching her sun necklace tight in her other hand.

With a gulp, the Faunus reached over and grabbed Maya's hand, gripping her moon necklace the same. "Cheyenne Aurora."

The two held each others hands incredibly tight, each with the same amount of strength. They were balanced between one another. Perfectly same aside from how they were raised.

Maya just cracked a very faint and smile smile, looking into Cheyenne's eyes. "We both know what I'm thinking."

Cheyenne smiled softly, quickly glancing down with a nod. "Yea, we both do."

"Good." She smiled a bit more, squeezing her hand tighter. "Hey, sis." She muttered out.

"Hi... twin..." Cheyenne glanced up at her for a moment, smiling softly. "Hello."

"Can someone please get them to stop!?" Kagami let out, her voice falling on deaf ears again.


	20. Sisterhood

Seventeen years ago, in a run down house in a city long forgotten, Theodore Aurora was sitting in his wheelchair in front of a couch with holes and stains all over. There was a few bruises across his face, most were healed, and wrapped around his knees were white bandages with red marks all over them. It had been a couple week after the situation that changed his life, but it still felt like an eternity to him.

"They're beautiful, Dakota." He mumbled, outstetching his arm that was chiseled with muscles. He leaned in a bit, the nerves in his shoulder twitching as he gently rubbed a hand across a tiny pair of antler buds on the head of a small child. He slowly moved his hand over, brushing the scalp of another newborn which was smooth.

"I know..." The young woman nodded, her face free of wrinkles. Dakota sat on the couch, holding the two baby girls close in her arms. She couldn't help but smile from ear to ear. Her brown eyes couldn't help but swell with a few tears. She held the two children closer, held her two daughters like they were the only thing left in existence.

She then sighed, slowly relaxing and leaning back into the couch. "It's such a shame they are stuck here..." She glanced down at the two of them. "They deserve better."

"I know, dear." He mumbled back to her, slowly crossing his arms. As he did so, muscles flexed in his chest. He took a deep breath, sighing as he leaned back. He then reached his right hand up, rubbing the back of his head before gently rubbing his broken antler.

"If..." He trailed off as he started to speak. He then sighed, his arms dropping down as he stared at his wife dead in the eyes. "I may be able to use some of my connections to figure out something."

"No!" His wife quickly snapped. "You already lost your legs to those mobsters!" she went jquiet, feeling the children stir in her arms. She took a deep breath, lowering her head. "I'm not losing them too."

"I won't let..." He sighed, glancing around the room before leaning back. "It was just a thought."

"It was a dumb one." She snapped in a quiet voice.

"At least let me try to give them a better life!" He finally shouted, glaring over at her. "They will be in hell if they live here!"

Dakota when quiet at that, slowly looking down. Her jaw tightened up before she let her hair wrap around her face and block her eyes. "Don't... just..."

"I know." Theodore gave a nod. "I will make sure they are safe at all cost. I'll do whatever I can. I will make sure our daughters have a better life than us."

She just sighed back, clutching her daughters tight. "Alright. Just... be careful."

Her husband gave a nod back again, slowly turning around in his chair and rolling out. Little did either of the Aurora parents knew what was coming. They never would have guessed they would have to face a situation on deciding which of their two daughters got to be set free from an unending burden.

Seventeen years later, the two long lost daughters of Natus met and the winding threads that bound them together were finally fully connected and tied off. The journey between the moon and the sun was taking its first steps at full power.

Early in the morning, before her alarm clock could wake her up, Elise was laying on her back on her bed. She had her arms laid across her stomach while she stared at the bottom of the bed above her. She couldn't help but sigh faintly as she wiggled down deeper under her blanket. "You awake... Kagami?" She finally let out.

"Yea." Her leader mumbled back, staring up at the ceiling above her head with her hands behind her head. "Been awake for a while now."

"What about you, Kris?" The young farm girl rolled over, glancing down at the bed below her. She the sighed, rolling back onto her back as she saw said red head sound asleep and snoring with headphones on. "Nope, she's not."

"So what do you want?" Kagami spoke up, glancing at the window to their dorm as the sun started to slowly rise.

"Do you think Cheyenne is having fun spending the night with her sister?" The question was filled with concern if nothing at all.

"I dunno." She responded truthfully. "I am sure she is beyond confused with it all, but I think it would be a good idea for her to stay the night with her and her team so she could get to know them."

"I guess you're right." Elise sighed, hearing her scroll start going off. "Well," She sighed again and slowly sat up. "Guess it's time to get ready."

A while later, as Kagami pulled her hoodie over her shirt, she glanced over at the bed which Kris was still sound asleep in. "So which one of us is going to wake her?" She raised an eyebrow, glancing over at Elise.

She looked back at her, the two of them staring in silence for a moment. Their eyes then quickly narrowed at each other.

"Not-" Elise started, trying to speak as fast as she could.

"Not it!" Kagami quickly interrupted.

"-it!" Elise blinked, her shoulders dropping down as she groaned. "Damn it..."

But before she could take a step towards the vicious red head, there was a knock on the door.

"Excuse me," One voice started.

Another contiued "It is us,"

"The Varken brothers." The last finished.

"Oh for the love of Oum..." Kagami put a hand on her face, shaking her head slowly.

Elise just rolled her eyes, smiling as she walked over towards the door and opened it. There, she stared at the three brothers all dressed in Mystal uniforms. "So what you boys want?"

Prac fixed his uniform a bit, stretching out his shoulders. "We have come for Maya."

"She said she was staying here to get to know here sister better." Fid added, dusting off his shoes.

Fif gave a nod, perking his head inside the dorm. "So where is she? We need to practice for the tournament."

Kagami and Elise both blinked, looking at each other with the same exact look. Before either could even so much as exhale, Kris shot from her bed in a giant green shirt that went down to her knees.

"Hold on!" She slammed a foot down onto the floor. "Are you telling me that they pulled a red robin on us!?" Her face went as red as her hair from anger. "That is my damn thing!"

"Huh?" Kagami glanced back at her, raising an eyebrow.

"You know!" The red head waved her arms around. "When someone tells someone they are spending the night at someone's house and then that someone says they are spending the night at the other persons house and they just go out on the town all night!"

"Wait," Prac raised his hand.

Fid's eyes just seemed to go wide. "Are you saying..."

"That Cheyenne isn't here and is somewhere on the streets!?" Fif shouted with concern.

Kris just nodded, crossing her arms with a grumble. "Yes."

The three brothers let out screams as Kagami reached up to rub her face. "Oh you have got to be kidding me." She mumbled, shaking her head slowly.

"Well then," Elise blinked as she looked around. "Guess we know what we are doing today."

In an old coffee restaurant on the streets of Vale, early enough in the morning that those who sat down inside it could watch people trying to rush to work, Cheyenne and Maya were sitting across from each other with raised eyebrows.

"So..." Maya blinked a few times, holding a warm cup of coffee with a hint of caramel and sprinkles ontop. "You don't drink coffee?"

"And you..." Cheyenne just stared back at her, holding a cup of steaming chamomile tea with a peppermint stick in it along with a lemon slice. "Don't drink tea?"

The two just stared at each other, blinking a few times before sighing softly in unison. They then both took a small drink, quickly pulling each of their cups down and sticking out their tongue from the heat.

"Guess we can't be exactly the same." Maya muttered, glaring down at her boiling hot coffee.

"Guess that's true, even if we are twins." Cheyenne set her cup down, blowing on it to cool it off.

There was a few moments of silence before each of them leaned back and sighed softly. Then the question came that Cheyenne didn't want to answer.

"So how's mother and father?"

The deer Faunus went stiff at the question. She didn't exactly know, but she could definitely assume what had happened. "You know how I told you I was taken from them?" Her sister nodded as she continued. "I... never really went back. After all those years... since I was the only one taking care of them... I could only guess they didn't make it far without me. And once those people who took me realized I was gone, they probably went after them too..." She trailed off, sighing ever so slightly as she grabbed her hands, her fingers picking at each other.

"O-Oh..." She gulped back, looking down. She then looked up with a bright smile. "Well there is no harm in checking. They might be completely fine."

"But they're not... there isn't a way they could possibly be okay..." She looked up slowly before lowering her head back down. "I'm sorry... you just learn about them and..." She couldn't finish her sentence.

"Hey," Maya reached over, smiling as she grabbed her twin's hand. "Don't worry about it. I have faith they are fine and that's all I need to hold onto." She smiled even more. "So don't worry about it."

Cheyenne looked up, smiling a bit. "You're very optimistic, you know that."

"Yep." She gave a nod, leaning back as she picked up her cup and a sip. "I know I am."

Meanwhile, across the street, watching the two of them from a pizza store, Thanaton was rubbing her chin softly. "Nilly didn't say anything about two of them." She leaned back, watching as a waiter placed a peperoni and pinapple pizza on her table. "Thanks." She flashed a forced smile, holding out a few lien.

"Anyday." The waiter gave a nod, snatching the currency away before scurrying off to fulfill another order.

She just rolled her eyes at him, taking a slice of pizza in her hand as she went back to staring. "Valentine didn't say anything about two of them either." She tilted her head, taking a rather large bite. She didn't care that she was talking to herself. She did it all the time. Now if anyone said anything to her about it, that would be a much different story.

"Cheyenne!" Elise had her hands cupped around her mouth, looking around the streets and buildings. "Where are you!?"

"Maya!" Prac shouted, doing the same as Elise.

His brother Fid doing the same. "Are you out here!?"

"Shout if you can hear us!" Fif cried out, looking around.

"Come on you two!" Kagami called out, looking down through alleyways. "This isn't a game!"

"And it's past noon... I would like some lunch..." Kris grumbled out, her stomach growling extremely loud. She then yelped as she was pushed down by a hand.

"Can't you focus on anything but yourself for once!?" Elise snapped, dusting off her hands with narrowed eyes.

The red head just groaned, slowly standing up. "You're a jerk. Even if you like the best show in the world."

Kagami just gave a faint sigh, walking between the two and pushing them apart. "Alright you guys. We clearly aren't going to get anywhere with you two together." She glanced at the triplets. "So how does splitting up sound? In groups of two?"

"You mean..." Prac blinked a few times.

Fid slowly raised his hand. "The three of us apart..."

"Without each other...?" Fif finished with raised eyebrows.

The leader of MACE sighed again, slowly nodding. "Yes. The three of you split apart so we can find Maya and Cheyenne faster. Haven't you three ever been apart before?"

"Nope." Prac shook his head.

Fid crossed his arms. "Never."

"Not once." Fif added.

"Oh Oum..." She reached up, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"I call dibs on the guy who always talks first!" Kris shouted, suddenly clinging onto Prac who stunbled a bit.

"Oh heck to the no!" Elise snapped, suddenly clinging to Fif. "The last one is totally the cutest!"

"Liar liar pants on fire!" Kris shouted.

Kagami took a deep breath, looking up at the three brothers. She then motioned for Prac and Fif to scrambled.

The three boys looked at each other, blinking a few times before nodding softly.

"It was bound to happen at some point." Prac mumbled, prying Kris off him.

Fid gave a nod, looking between his two brothers. "Indeed it was."

"Then I wish you the best of luck." Fif nodded, picking Elise of him.

A second later, Prac amd Fif were bolting in opposite directions, carrying the arguing girls away from each other.

With another sigh, Kagami walked up to Fid with her hands in her pockets. "Well, I guess you're stuck with me."

Said brother just nodded back slowly. He was never the one to speak first and to be honest, it felt very weird for him to imagine doing such.

Hours later, after the sun had set on the edge of Remnant's surface while the broken moon was high and bright, Maya and Cheyenne were walking down the streets and staring up at the stars.

"You know," Cheyenne spoke in a hush tone. "Kagami said once that all the stars in the sky are the people who have passed looking down at us."

Maya blinked a few times before smiling a bit. "So who would you say is the sun?"

"Probably someone extremely important." She pushed her hands down into her pockets, the chilly air starting to show her breath. "Someone who was held deeply in all of Remnant's hearts long ago. Our creator so to say. They were probably a very inspirational person too. I mean, if they created our world they must have been very creative and not tend to follow traditions." She gave a small shrug. "That is if what Kagami says about stars is true."

"Do you believe it's true?" She glanced over at her with a raised eyebrow.

The deer Faunus just slowly shrugged again. "I don't know. It's weird, it's like I want to believe with all my heart, but I don't know how."

"Understandable." She nodded, fixing her beanie. "I get that."

Cheyenne glanced over at her twin, smiling a little. "It's good to finally meet you after everything."

"It's even better without those crazy people around us constantly commenting or bothering use too." Maya nudged her with a grin. "I bet you get tired of those three girls."

She gave a faint chuckle, rubbing the back of her head. "Don't get me wrong, they can be very annoying, but they are still my friends. I'm sure you love those three little slobs in a weird way."

"That's..." She held up a hand, sighing softly. "Yes, okay, that's not completely a lie."

Cheyenne gave a small laugh, her hand covering her mouth a bit. To that, Maya herself couldn't hold in a faint laugh. The two of them burst into full blown laughter after a moment, their arms wrapping around their stomachs. That laughter didn't last long though. The two of them walked past an alley and that was the end of it.

A few minutes before, Prac and Kris were walking past a book store. The two of them were an awkward pair, both silent and completely opposites. It must have been strange walking past them. On one side there was a giant man with arms as big as his head was round. On the other side was a skinny short girl so frail looking someone could assume she could be snapped like a twig.

"Sooo..." Kris stood up on her tip toes, looking up. "Have any idea where Maya might take Cheyenne?"

"Not a clue." He paused, blinking a few times before sighing. Part of him really thought someone would continue on his thoughts for him. "I really don't know where she would go. She has never been to Vale before."

The red head sighed softly, taking out her scroll again. She went to call Cheyenne, no one picking up yet again. "This sucks. It really does." She muttered before crossing her arms and looking forward. "She's lost. I'm tired. My feet hurt. I haven't eaten anything all day." She groaned, grinding her teeth together before letting out a scream.

The large boy blinked a few times, glancing down at her. "Yet you still look for Cheyenne. Much like how my brothers and I look for Maya. You must hold her close as a friend."

Her face went a bit red as she shoved her hands into her pockets. "I-I mean... she is always too quiet. And tries to make Elise and I stop fighting. And is a pain. And... and..." Her face gained more heat as she lowered her head. "She really has adorable antlers."

Prac couldn't help but chuckle softly, crossing his arms. He went to speak but before he could, there was a faint explosion from several blocks down. He blinked a little, quickly looking back down at Kris. "Maya could be there."

Kris nodded, already pulling out her weapons. "Same with Cheyenne."

"Then let's get going." He picked her up, bolting towards the smoke.

As he ran, Kris pulled out her scroll while on his shoulder. "I'm going to call Elise. She'll get your brother too."

"Good." He gave a nod.

Meanwhile, several blocks away in the other direction, Elise raised an eyebrow as smoke lifted up through the air. "You see that, Piggy?"

"You know this little Piggy has a name, right?" Fif raised an eyebrow at her. He then sighed, shaking his head softly. "Either way, yes. I did. And-" He was cut off as Elise's scroll started to go off.

Said girl blinked, reaching down and answering her scroll. "Yes?" She gave a nod, looking over at the ever rising smoke. "Okay." She looked back at Fif. "Alright." He looked back at the smoke. "Got it. Be there soon, Shorty." There was a sound of screaming from the scroll before she quickly hung up.

"Come on." Elise looked over at Fif. "Kris and your brother thinks Cheyenne and Maya are there."

"Then let us not waste anymore time." He started to run towards the smoke, Elise following quickly behind. "At the rate my brothers and I run, it shouldn't take more than eight minutes for us to get there."

"A lot can happen in eight minutes..." Elise munbled quietly, checking for extra air cartridges.

Down where the smoke was, Maya and Cheyenne were staring at the girl in purple who just seemed to make a rock explode like a bomb.

"Alright." Thanaton narrowed her eyes at the two twins. "I want answer right now." She picked up a small stone from the ground, tossing it up and down. "Unless you want to see me explode something else?" She raised an eyebrow before pausing her walk.

"What do you want?" Maya narrowed her eyes back, holding her hands out. "Tell me right now or else." Wind slowly started to twirl around her fingers, faster and faster till the air seemed to turn into sharp blades.

At that, Thanaton gave a wicked grin. The rock she was hokding gained a purple glow. She chucked it straight at the two of them.

Maya narrowed her eyes, bringing her fist through the air like an upper cut. Wind shot from her arm, striking the stone as it was launched into the sky. A moment later, there was a bright orange fireball in its place.

"Soooo, do you have a plan?" Cheyenne quickly spoke, looking over at her sister.

She just shook her head no, taking a step back. "Besides survive, I got nothing,"

The deer Faunus gave a soft whine, pulling out her rifle."Wonderful."

"All I asked for was an explanation." Thanaton stepped forward, her arms outstretched. "We don't need to fight over this. I simply want to know which one of you fought my brother and which one of you were raised in Mystral."

The two twins looked at each other, blinking a few times. Then then glared back over at the girl in purple, readying themselves in a fighting stance that mirrored each other. "Not a chance." They both said at the same time before sprinting at Thanaton.

Said girl's smile only grew wide as she ran straight at the sisters. "I see how this will be! You're going to regret this!"

Maya rolled her eyes a little, interlocking her fingers as she brought her hands downward in a slash. A sharp rush of air quickly sliced through like a vicious breeze. Thanaton just rolled her eyes, jumping up. She pushed herself onto her hands before shoving herself off the ground and doing a front flip over the air based attacked.

The second her feet landed on the ground, Cheyenne was firing round after round at her. Her grin went wicked as she danced between the blast sent at her. "Nope! Nope! Nope! You missed again! Come on! Are you even trying to hit me!?" She chuckled softly, turning around a bit before back flipping over the two girls.

"Damn." Maya muttered, taking several steps into the alleyway.

"Not kidding." Cheyenne muttered, gulping softly. She quickly raised her rifle up, aiming at the girl in purple. As she started to squeeze the trigger she heard something in the distance. She paused, lowering her gun as she raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"

"It's Prac and Fif." He sister glanced at her with a smile.

"You can tell them apart by their raging screams?" The Faunus tilted her head some before looking over at Thanaton.

Thanaton seemed just as confused from the sounds. "What the hell-" She was suddenly cut off, two large masses crashing into each side of her.

"Do not harm Maya!" Prac roared, not even caring at how his body could have been injured as he tackled Thanaton from the left.

As he did so, Fif tackled the same girl from the right. "Do not so much as lay a finger on her!" He snapped.

The two boys stumbled back, leaving the girl whom they crushed between them to stumble. Prac let his eyes narrow as his hands turned into fist. He brought his arms upward, his muscles flexing as veins stuck out.

"H-Huh...?" Thanaton raised an eyebrow before grunting as the ground underneath her shot up and collided directly into her. She was sent several feet into the air, rubbing her head as she started her decent. "The hell..." She opened her eyes, looking down. Her eyes then went wide at the sight of water shooting up towards her. "Bloody hell!" She shouted, her eyes going even wider as the water collided with her body.

"You will not harm Mayaaa!" Fif shouted, sending the girl in purple flying through the air and across the city.

"Um..." Kris blinked a few times, raising a hand as she caught up to the group. "Shouldn't we have... you know... not sent her flying so we could arrest her?"

"That does seem like the smart idea." Elise pointed at Kris. "Now we are stuck having to fight her again at some point."

"Right," Prac rubbed the back of his head.

There was a moment a silence before Fif spoke up. "Yes, sorry. We sometimes don't know our own strength."

"Either way," Cheyenne smiled softly, walking up to her saviors. "Thanks you guys."

"Yep, you've saved my skin again." Maya smiled, walking up towards her two teammates.

The two brothers gave a respectful bow before flinching as Kris started to shout.

She took large steps straight towards Cheyenne. "Do you have any idea how long we have been looking for you?! Almost twenty-four hours! Almost a full day! That is a full day with out rest, food, and constantly walking!" She went one, Cheyenne gulping a bit as she took a few steps back. "I get it that you want to be close to your sister! I have always wanted to be close with mine! But that does not mean you run off like this and not tell anyone! Something could have happened to you or worse!" She took a deep breath, taking a small step back.

"Hey, Kris, you don't-" Elise was cut off by Kris' harsh glare.

The red head just slowly looked back over at her Faunus teammate. "Maya may be your sister, but we are still your friends." Her eyes softened a bit. "So don't do something stupid like this again."

Prac blinked a few times, raising an eyebrow. He then glanced at his brother. "Are we allowed to yell at Maya like that?"

"I... don't think so?" Fif raised an eyebrow, glancing to said girl on his team.

"Oh, shush boys." She waved her hand towards them. The two boys just softly sighed before nodding.

Cheyenne blinked a few times before nodding softly to the small red head in front of her. "Alright." She smiled a little bit, rubbing the back of her head. "Sisters will be sisters, but our team is a sisterhood that is just as strong."

Kris smiled back, sticking her hands in her pockets as she looked away. Her face started to gain some color. "Good." She mumbled.

"Wait, guys." Elise looked around a bit. "Where's Kagami?"

Said leader at the moment was sitting at a ramen stand with Fid. Both of then devouring bowl after bowl.

"You surely eat a lot for such a skinny girl." Fid mumbled with a mouthful. He then slurped several noodles down.

"Yea, when I was little I use to eat everything in sight." She place down an empty bowl, nodding to the clerk for another one.

"Either way," He looked over at her. "Can you really tell my brothers and I apart?"

"Of course." She glanced over at him. "Prac seems to be a little more outgoing and hot headed. He starts all your conversations with ease." She looked down at her fresh bowl of ramen and licked her lips. "You're a little more neutral. I can see in your eyes that you take in a whole situation and all sides yet you still follow Prac. And Fif..." She started devouring her bowl. "He seems to be a natural born follower I'm sad to say. He doesn't have much of his mind made up. It's probably easier for him to do what someone else does rather than think of his own."

"You..." Fid blinked a few times before giving a nod. "You are a very impressive girl."

She glanced over at him, smiling a bit. "Thanks. You think the others will be okay? I couldn't stand hearing your stomach grumbled anymore. And I am also pretty sure the neighbors couldn't sleep with it growling either."

"Y-Yea," He rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry about that. Usually my brothers and I eat at least nine meals a day, maybe ten. But you know..." He set and empty bowl down. "I'm sure they're fine."

"Good." She nodded with a soft smile, glancing up at him. "That's all I want for my team."

Hours later, far into the next night, Maya Borealis walked through a pair of double doors into a darkened room. There was a different look in her eyes now, a much more annoyed look. "Show yourself!" She shouted, jer hands balled up in tight fist.

"Will you be quiet?" A pink haired demon strode through the darkness and out into the light. "You gave Thanaton a rather painfully broken nose." She crossed her arms.

Maya growled softly, her arms crossing. "She attacked us first." She took steps forward to beoome face to face with Valentine. "And you never told me that my sister was involved with all of this."

"You never asked." She shrugged back, smiling a little.

She took a deep breath, growling again as her eyes narrowed. "I know what we are doing is for the better, but you never said she was involved with it. Now the Varken brothers are going go get involved with it too."

"And what? Are you worried about those fools?" She raised an eyebrow. "I told you not to get close to them when I first sent you to Haven."

"I know... but..." She trailed off, looking down. "My sister. You never said she would be involved."

"You didn't even know you had a sister up until now." Valentine hissed.

Her head shot up at that, eyes narrowed. "Well now I do! No thanks to you!"

In an instant, her hand as wrapped around her neck. "Now you listen to me. What we are doing is for the better. People will get hurt. People are going to die. People are going to suffer." Her eyes narrowed as her fingers tightened. "Do not get close to any of them. Is that understood?" Her eyes became daggers, piercing into Maya's soul.

Maya tried to gulp, her hands balled up in tight fist as she struggled to breathe. "Y-Yes, Val-"

"What was that?" Her nails started to dig into her skin.

"Y-Yes..." She gulped, shutting both her eyes. "Yes, mother."


	21. We Finally Meet

"Last day before the semester starts up again... and you make us late because you didn't want to leave without putting makeup on." Cheyenne sighed softly, glancing over at Kris. "You know, none of us wear makeup. It's only you."

"What are you talking about?" The red head looked up. "Kagami does too." She pointed at their team leader.

The girl with jade hair just paused, glancing back. At the moment she was wearing her hoodie over her school uniform, her hands inside her hoodie pocket. "I do?" She seemed incredibly confused at the comment.

"Yeah," The short girl shook her head a bit before waving a hand at her. "I mean, you can't naturally be that pale."

She froze, her eyes becoming slightly narrowed. She then took a deep breath, keeping in her screams before she turned back around. "Okay, just okay. Now let's hurry. I think Elise is dying from starvation." She looked over at said farm girl.

Elise simply groaned, leaning forward with her arms swaying back and forth. "I think my stomach ate my stomach... guuuuuys... I'm dyyyyying..."

Kagami softly chuckled, shaking her head as she walked up to the doors to the cafeteria. "I'm sure there is a bunch of food left. You can eat all you want." She pushed the door open, walking inside. She then stopped, blinking several times at the nearly empty room.

"What?" Kris popped her head in. "Why did you stop?"

Before she could respond, Elise bolted in and rapidly looked around with wide, vicious eyes. "Foooood! Wheeeeere?!"" Her head then snapped to a group of eight students and two faculty of Beacon. "Oh." She blinked before smiling with a wave. "Hi there."

"Well this isn't strange." Kris mumbled before grabbing Cheyenne's wrist. "Come on."

"W-Wait!" With wide eyes, the deer Faunus did her best to not be pulled inside. She ultimately failed at that though. She felt her whole entire body stiffen as her face shot red when she caught the sigh of her hero from years ago.

"Guess we're going in anway." Kagami muttered, slowly following behind her team.

"S'up Oz!" Elise called out, casually walking over to the headmaster. She blinked a few times, her hands behind her back as she stood on her tip toes and looked over at the eight students who were covered in food. She then quickly looked back at Ozpin. "Was there a food fight and no one invited me?!"

"Miss Spruce," Glynda shot her a glare to which the small girl stepped away at. "We are in the middle of something."

"Actually," Professor Ozpin rubbed his chin a bit, glancing at Kagami's team and team RWBY. "I think we are done here." He turned to face team JNPR. "You four," He then whispered so Glynda couldn't hear. "Don't let them win so easily next time."

"On iiittt!" Nora shot to her feet, grabbing Ren by the back of his collar. "Defeat will be swift next time! Now let's go practice!"

Ren gave a soft sigh as he was dragged away. "You mean I make pancakes for you to practice with since you didn't eat any."

"Yeeeeep!" The short pink haired girl let out, dancing out of the room.

"Well, I'm hungry too." Pyrrha stood up, dusting herself off. "Perhaps we could get some syrup before Nora drinks it all again." She gave a happy smile, one that no one could ever forget.

"I could use a shower myself." Jaune mumbled, brushing himself off as he walked out with her, completely oblivious to the smile she was giving him.

"Hey," Yang suddenly mumbled, waving her hand in front of Blake who was staring without blinking. "You okay? What are you looking at?" She looked in the direction she was looking, spotting a deer Faunus in a Beacon uniform. "Oh." She blinked a few times.

"That's..." Blake stood up slowly, taking almost fearful steps towards her. "...Cheyenne?" Her voice came off smaller than usual.

Cheyenne quickly looked around, gulping softly before reaching up and scratching her antlers. "Y-Yea um..." She gulped slightly.

"Wait," Kris put a hand on her hip, pointing over at the other group of four girls. "You know them?"

"Who do you think you're pointing at?" Weiss shot to her feet, eyes narrowing,

"Hopefully someone with less food in their hair than you." The red head narrowed her eyes, crossing her arms.

A small vein bulged in the heiress' head as she crossed her own arms and stomped forward. "Would you like to say that to my face?"

"Yes I would!" Kris stopped inches from Weiss, standing up on her tip toes to try to be eye level.

Weiss rolled her eyes, sighing softly before narrowing her eyes down at her. "Just as immature as that dunce."

As the two of them started to bicker back and forth, Cheynne took a deep breath, looking over at Blake who approached her. "S-So I see you've... you're..." She tried to speak, trailing off before going silent as she felt a hand on her shoulder.

Blake simply gave her usual smile, letting out a small breath of air. "It's good to see you've left them as well."

"I-I..." She still stumbled with her words. Finally, she tensed then gulped before getting a few words out. "It's quite a coincidence we've both ended up at the same school after running away from them."

"I agree." She nodded back. "Coincidence are more than just rare happenings though. They're destiny."

She nodded back, smiling a little more before glancing down at her feet. "It's... really nice to see you again."

"Listen, Cheyenne..." This time, Blake trailed off a bit. "I'm sorry for leaving without saying good bye."

Cheyenne blinked a few times before looking up at her savior and friend. She gave a soft chuckle, rubbing the back of her head with a smile. "I'm just happy I got to say hello again. Even... if I saw you like six other times and purposely ignored you..." She spoke in a hushed tone and as quick as she could at the end.

"Huh?" Blake blinked a few times, raising an eyebrow.

"You know," Elise sat on a table next to Yang, both their elbows on their thighs as their hands held up their heads. "Kris is a lot like the white girl. And Cheyenne is a lot like thay black girl."

"And Weiss is a lot like that red girl. And Blake is a lot like that brown girl." Yang mumbled back, blinking between the two pairs. "It's actually kinda strange and disturbing."

"No duh." She leaned back before looking over at the blonde. She then held out her hand. "I'm Elise."

"Yang." She grinned back, reaching out and grabbing her hand with a tight grip. She then pointed in another direction. "And that over there is my sister Ru...by?" She raised an eyebrow, watching as Ruby stood still, eyes locked with Kagami.

"Wonder what's up with Kagami." Elise leaned forward, blinking a few times as she kicked her legs back and forth.

"You have... eyes..." Ruby muttered as shs started to blink, slowly leaning in closer.

Kagami nodded softly back, her eyes narrowing some. "So do you... silver ones..."

"And... light green ones..." She muttered back.

Neither of them understood the feeling inside of either of them. They were both warriors, the challenge of battle running deep in their veins. And with someone of equal strength in front of them, the instincts to see who was stronger burned deep inside both of them. Not like either would fight without a good incentive that is. So instead the two just stood in silence, staring at each other's eyes or making a movement the other mimicked.

"Weirdo." Elise mumbled before looking back over at Yang.

The blonde simply shook her head, looking over at the brunet. "Sorry, my sister is um... unique. Yes, that's a nice was to put it." She smiled, holding up a thumb.

"No problem." Elise waved her off. "I've delt with Kris for a semester now and you know..." She glanced at the red head arguing with ghe girl in white. "Kris is a hundred percent insane."

"I can fully understand that." Yang leaned over to the side, sighing as she stared at Weiss. "I have someone on my team who is absolutely insane and is a complete control freak."

"Dido." She mumbled the sighed again. "Let's see, weird leader, crazy insane girl, you don't have a quiet Faunus by chance?" She looked over at her.

"Yeeep." She nodded back. "Described my team exactly."

"Funny." She chuckled a bit then pointed at Yang. "You don't happen to be the totally cool a chill person, do ya?"

"Please," She leaned back with a smile, winking at Elise before sliding on her aviators. "I am the definition cool. Well... Ice Queen is more cool than me, but that's only because she's ice."

"Hey!" Weiss quickly snapped her head over.

"Oh," Elise nudged Yang a bit. "You got a name for your insane person. I call mine Short Stack."

"Hey!" This time, Kris shot her head over and glared.

As Weiss and Yang started to bicker back and forth, so did Kris and Elise.

"You have... some very strange teammates." Cheyenne mumbled, looking between the blonde and the heiress. "Very interesting."

"So do you." Blake responded, blinking rapidly.

"Professor Ozpin," Glynda rubbed her face softly, standing next to the headmaster who sipped his cup of hot chocolate. "This is plain ridiculous."

"Perhaps," He leaned back, staring at Kagami and Ruby who didn't move a muscle. "But it just goes to show how similar people are in Remnant even though they may be worlds apart and on complete opposite sides of the spectrum."

She just sighed, shaking her head a bit. "Sometimes, I really do wonder what goes on inside your head, sir."

"Then maybe it is for the better that no one ever knows." His eyes narrowed slowly at the two teams as he took another sip.

Later that night, in one of Vale's most guarded prisons, a small and very young blonde girl sat on a bench inside of a cell. More than that though, her hands were covered in metal restraints to keep them from touching anything else. She had a name, one many use to fear before she was thrown inside the concrete box she was in.

"Sin," A guard came up to the cell door, kicking it as he called out her name. "Wake up! You have a visitor!"

The small girl's head slowly lifted, her eyelids opening to reveal apple red eyes. She simply gave a soft snarl, flashing her teeth before she moved her head back down.

The guard rolled his eyes, unlocking the cell with a key. "You shouldn't have to worry about her." He looked up at the visitor. "Like this, she can't harm anyone. I am surprised that Lisa Lavender wants a report on such a dangerous girl."

"Oh, you know how she is." Wearing a reporters outfit with a messenger bag at her side, Valentine gave a soft smile and tilted her head. Her hair was in a pony tail at the moment which made her look completely different. "Lavender is always looking for the real details. She isn't like normal reporters who want the stuff people will adore her for. She wants to speak the truth out to the world."

"And that's why everyone in Vale loves her." He slid the door open, motioning for her to go inside. "Just scream if you need anything. We will come running in an instant."

"Oh I'm sure you will." She nodded to him, walking inside. She couldn't help but smile as she heard the door shut. Without even the slightest bit of hesitation, she walked up to the small blonde girl. "The infamous Eri Sin. We finally meet." She chuckled softly. "I have heard quiet a lot about you. And so has my employer." She stood straight in front of her. "Look up at me when I am speaking to you."

Eri growled deeply, lifting her head up to glare with her teeth showing. Her entire body tensed as her hands tried to break free.

"Don't speak much, do you?" She raised an eyebrow before shaking her head. "Doesn't matter." She placed a hand on the metal keeping Eri's hands locked away. She gently pushed it down. "There is no need for struggle though." She gained a wicked smile. "You have been able to impress someone high up." She pulled her hand away, reaching into the bag at her side. She didn't pull it out all the way but she did reveal enough to let Eri catch a glimpse of something she hadn't used in forever.

"Well?" Valentine slid the metal piece back into the bag. "How would you like to get out of here?" She pulled a key from her pocket and spun it around a bit.

The small blonde blinked her red eyes several times before she leaned back with a devilish grin. "I'd say you've caught my attention."

"So she does speak." She chuckled softly back at her. "I hope you're ready to kill a few guards."

"Never." Eri leaned forward, holding up her arms to be set free. "But the guards are ready to kill themselves."

"Good." Valentine reached forward, placing the key in the lock. There was a loud click that filled the room before there was an extremely loud metal thud. There was a cry from one of the guards to the others in the area before he unlocked the cage, yelling at Valentine as he did so. It was far too late though.

Standing up with her blonde hair around her face, Eri licked her lips softly as her apple colored eyes turned to that of blood. She stretched her fingers out, her nails chipped and red polish scratched off. Around her wrist she had silver gauntlets, three blades coming out of them like glaws. "You're going to scream for taking my dessert every day." She muttered, her hands balling up in tight fist.

"Hell..." The guard mumbled, turning for the door. He then froze, watching as Valentine slowly shut it with a chuckle.

"No hard feelings," She waved at him. "But this is for the best. At least you are to die first and don't have to see your comrades die." With that, she slammed the door shut, awaiting the bloody and terrified screams that would soon follow.


	22. Just Like Clouds

Sitting on the edge of the window seal, Elise sighed softly as she kicked her legs back and forth. She glanced down at the ground, not even startled by the two hundred foot drop if she fell. She actually felt at ease here. The height reminding her of the mountains her father use to take her up and the bluffs she would scale with him. She actually really wanted to climb up the side of the building. It would be a fun adventure as long as she didn't fall.

She kicked her legs a bit more, her eyes trailing up a tree that was roughly a meter from the dorm room window. She could probably jump from the window to the tree if she wanted to. Jump and grab ahold of a branch then climb down. That would be the definition of excitement for her. Her skin was crawling with the urge to do so and her bones were practically jumping themselves.

She gave another, much longer sigh as she looked up at the bright blue sky. Not a cloud was to be seen. The sun was shining as bright as ever and the wind was gently breezing through the trees and buildings. This was perfect hiking whether. The day couldn't have been more beautiful. She couldn't lie at all, she missed her farm. She missed her parents and helping them out. She missed her horse, Jelly Bean. She actually missed doing chores. She just missed the normalness and adventurous life she had. Not that she didn't love it here. Beacon was a wonderful place. This academy just missed the special spark that she had back home. The spark of pure adventure and never knowing if she will catch dinner or not.

Seeing a large Atlas ship slowly fly through the air then pause in front of the sun, blocking the rays from illuminating the window seal, Elise groaned as deep as she good and laid back onto a book shelf. "Stupud metal clouds!" She called out, glaring up at the ceiling before shutting her eyes.

"They are called airships." Cheyenne mumbled, ever so gently brushing a paint brush with red paint across a canvas. Growing up poor, she found great pleasure in making the small things beautiful. She wasn't too shabby at art either. She could paint like none other and make jewelry out of practically anything. It was an escape. It was her way of coping with the whole world she was forced into.

"And you shouldn't complain so much. They are all over the city." The deer Faunus glanced over at the farm girl who looked bored out of her mind. "And you should probably get working on your homework. I know the semester just started, but Professor Peach gave us a lot of work to do."

"But I don't wanna!" Elise groaned, slowly sliding from the bookshelf onto the floor. "It's boring! I want to go outside! And chase something! And hunt something!"

She just sighed softly, leaning back in her chair as she stared at the girl laying flat on the ground. "Elise?"

"Yeah?" The brunet lifted up her head and opened her eyes. She then winced, shutting her eyes as red paint was flinged onto her face. She quickly sat up, pulling down her sleeves to her school uniform and rubbing it off. "Hey! What's that for!?"

"For being a silly idiot." Cheyenne said, waving her paint brush around for emphasis. "Now shush and do your school work. I've already completed mine. You do your's and then you can do..." She trailed off, thinking of a word as she waved the brush more. "... then you can do your crazy things."

"You're not my motheeer!" She let out in response, rolling over on the floor. "You can't tell me what to do!"

She just sighed, going back to her panting of Forever Fall. "I guess you're right, but you're wasting your own time." She mumbled, going back to work.

"You're also being annoying." Kris mumbled, laying on her bed with music blaring on her headphones.

Elise blinked a few times, looking up at the red head. "You... can hear me?" She eaised an eyebrow.

The small girl just looked over with an equally confused expression, tilting her head softly. "Yep. Is that weird? Am I not suppose to hear your loud mouth?"

"You're blaring music so loud it could wake the dead!" She was suddenly standing, rapidly waving her arms around. "How are you not deaf!?"

Kris just blinked a few times before giving a soft shrug. "Yep. It's pretty easy actually. As much as it pains me to say it, I just focus on you and push the music aside and I can hear you. Not that hard."

Cheyenne was now looking back at her, eyebrows raised. "I'm... pretty sure that's not how it works."

"Same here." Elise mumbled, scratching the back of her head.

"Well what do you two know!? I am the one listening to music!" Kris shot to her feet, grunting as her head hit the bed above her. In an instant, she was crouched dpwn and rubbing the top of her head. "Ow ow ow ow ow." She grimaced, rubbing it a bit hard. As she pulled her hands down, she flinched as a green leather book came crashing down ontop of her head. She groaned deeply, sitting down as she rubbed her head intensely. "Ow!" She shouted, her eyes tearing up.

"Oh, hey, what's that?" Elise blinked, reaching down and grabbing the book. She blinked a few times, running her thumb over the circle symbol which she recognized from from the back of Kagami's hoodie. "Hey, Chey?"

"Yes?" The deer Faunus looked over, setting down her paint brush as she stood up.

"Kagami is taking a shower right now, yea?" The brunet asked, looking over.

Cheyenne just slowly nodded, slowly walking over. "What's that?"

"I dunno..." She mumbled, running a finger across the binding of it. "It's really well made though. Probably hand made too."

"Well since it decided to hit me..." Kris rubbed her head with one eye shut and stood. In an instant, she was leaning over Elise's shoulder. "Let's open it and read it."

"Hmmm..." Elise quickly glanced over at the bathroom door, narrowing her eyes before quickly opening the book. "Done." She muttered, turning the first page. The three girls then paused for a moment, reading what was on the first page.

 _In the distant nights, our ancestors are calling_

 _They tell me 'strong is her will to fight, but a war is coming_

 _And the dear child is unprepared_

 _Enemies will beat her, show her why they should be feared'_

 _But to tell you thd truth, I don't even care_

 _I, am going to believe, through all the madness_

 _I, am going to have faith, even in the darkness_

 _You are more than just my child_

 _You were born to run wild_

 _Whatever path you choose, whatever your destiny may be_

 _All I ask of you is a few simple things_

 _Keep moving forward, never stay down on your knees_

 _Don't drop your sword, always stay loyal and just believe_

 _Because I, am going to believe, in your worst hour_

 _I, am going to have faith, when there's a bloody shower_

 _You are more than just an out casted rebel_

 _You were born to be a victorious hero_

 _All you have to do is believe in yourself and have faith_

 _And know it's never too late_

After several long minutes of silence, after each of the girls finished reading, Kris broke the silence. "Whoa." Was all she let out, blinking rapidly with wide eyes. "That was... um..."

"That was amazing." Cheyenne mumbled, staring at the page as she read it over again and again. "It is really something."

"It was beautiful." Elise muttered, her hand going up to turn the page to read more. She then froze at the sound of the door opening.

All three girls went stiff, their heads snapping up to see Kagami walking out of the bathroom. In one hand she held her green hoodie, her other hand shaking some of her wet hair around. Since her hoodie wasn't on, her black t-shirt could be seen.

"So that's what she wears under that thing." Kris mumbled, taking a small step away from Elise who held the book. Cheyenne quickly did the same.

Kagami just paused, blinking rapidly as she stared at Elise. There was a moment of silence before Elise quickly snapped the book shut and held up her arms. She didn't even have a second to speak before she was tackled onto the lower bed by Kagami.

"Where did you get that!?" The jade haired girl snapped, her voice filled with more embarrassment than anger. "And how much did you read!?" She pinned Elise down on the bed.

Groaning softly, Elise twisted and turned before rolling ontop of Kagami. "It fell from the sky! And just the first page!"

"Things just don't fall from the sky!" She rolled back over ontop of her, her long curvy hair falling down.

"Well this did!" She snapped back. She then paused, sniffing the green hair that fell near her face. "You know, this smells really good. What kind of shampoo do you use?".

"Oh. It's this really nice naturally made soup my mom taught me to make." Kagami glanced at her hair. "Dad always complained about it smelling too much like nature. I'm not sure how that's a thing though..."

"Me neither." Elise munbled, sniffing her hair again. "You should let me use some of it though. I really like the smell."

She just shrugged back, looking face to face at her. "Sure. Why not. Bet I could teach you to make it too."

"Really?" She smiled. "That would be great!"

As the two of them spoke, Kris grinned and leaned up against Cheyenne. She then held up her arms, making a heart shape with her hands around Elise and Kagami. Cheyenne blinked a few times before facepalming. Kris just chuckled softly, a huge grin forming across her face as she quietly mumbled. "I ship it."

"You're such a dork!" Cheyenne reached over, her eyes shut as she pushed Kris down onto the floor.

Meanwhile, Elise quickly rolled over back ontop of Kagami. "I told you! It fell from the sky!"

"Books don't just randomly fall out of the sky!" Kagami shouted, rolling over to be back on top, pinning the brunet down.

"Well fine!" She tossed and turned before grunted as she forced herself ontop of Kagami again. "It fell from your bed!"

"So you just decided to read it!?" Her pale tea green eyes went wide as she tossed herself above her.

Elise sunk into the bed at that, raising an eyebrow. "Y-Yeah...? What is it even...?"

Silence filled the room as Kagami quietly mumbled. After a moment, she let Elise go and sat up. "My mom gave it to me... before I left... she wrote the first page... and I just write things afterwards..."

There was moment of silence before it was broken by Kris blurting out words again. "Well you know, it's really good. It would make a good song. Can you write as well as that? You know, we should start our own band and-" She was cut off, Cheyenne pushing her down to the ground.

"I swear," The deer Faunus munbled, her eyes shut as her head twitched a bit. "You have absolutely no self control what so ever."

"You left?" Elise's eyebrows raised softly with concern.

Kagami blinked a bit before quickly lowering her head. "Y-Yea... w-well..." She gulped softly and slowly nodded. "Yes, but it's complicated."

Elise just blinked softly before reaching over and grabbing the green leather book with a soft sigh. She wasn't going to pry. She gave a soft smile, holding it out towards Kagami. "Here." She brought her arms back and crossed them. "Sorry for reading it without your permission and you know," She smiled a bit more with a wink. "You should let me read more of it later on."

She blinked softly, raising her eyebrows before smiling with a nod. She held the book a bit tight before leaning over and tossing it up to her bed.

"Sooo..." Kagami took a deep breath, standing up as she pulled her hoodie on. "We have the rest of the day off. What shall we do?"

"Thank Oum you finally asked!" Elise shot to her feet with a smile. "I've been itching to stretch my legs and walk around!"

Kris just softly rolled her eyes, heading towards the bathroom. "I'll start getting ready then."

Cheyenne gave a smile, glancing back at the red head before back at her team leader. "We could ask my sister and the Varken brothers if they want to come."

Kagami gave a shrug as Elise raised her eyebrows. "What's their team name even?" The brunet asked.

"I think it's like... MVVV or something." Kagami glanced back at her. "Like the purple color."

"Oh, so mauve?" Cheyenne raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah." The jade haired girl gave a nod. "That sounds about right. Don't you think?" She looked at Elise. "It's a color and mauve sorta looks like MVVV."

Elise just sighed softly, slowly shaking her head. "You know, this makes zero sense to someone hearing it. Only people who read what you are saying would make sense of it."

Kagami just rolled her eyes with a sigh as she looked back at Cheyenne. "Yeah, go ahead and ask them. I'm sure they would like a nice tour around Vale without having to battle crazy and insane criminals."

"Kay." Cheyenne mumbled, pulling out her scroll.

Meanwhile, in an old and abandoned warehouse, Dion Ysus sighed over so slightly with his hands rubbing his face. He then pointed at the short blonde girl in red in front of him. "You're getting me, right Valentine? You're messing with me. She's not even above five feet tall."

As Eri growled up at him, Valentine softly shook her head, placing a hand on the small girl's shoulder. "Dion, do try to be nice. You lost your hammer swinging lacky, you need a new one. So why not a much better and more reliable one? Eri here is a killer none the less." She gave a wicked smile, her golden eyes gleaming.

"And I'm leagues better than you too." Eri's eyes narrowed up at him. "If you want someone dead, I'm the answer. You though, you probably start running the second you start to lose."

The purple haired man just growled softly, his shirtless upper body flexing. He went to speak, but the small girl did before him.

"And what's with being in your boxers constantly?" She motioned a hand up and down his body. "And you look like a sweaty pig. What do you even do in your free time?"

He growled again, his hands balling up into fist. He then suddenly pointed at her. "I wish you were mute."

She just smirked, tilting her head. "And I wish you were a better criminal."

"Oh you two will be perfect together." Valentine smiled from ear to ear. She put her hands on her hips, turning on her heels as she started to strode off. "There's a shipment of Atlas weapons coming in today. And one of Her other employers has a dirty rat who even snagged a few mechs. We need all we can get." She flashed a glared back at the two of them. "Try not to screw up too bad."

Dion gulped softly, sticking his hands onto his boxer's pockets. "She never gets any less scary." He muttered.

"I'd hate to agree with you," Eri crossed her arms, watching the pink haired demon walk away. "But I think I agree with you on that."

Hours later, sitting at two tables connected with each other, MACE and MVVV were all devouring food as the sun started to set. They were all eating at one of Vale's more popular restaurants, IR Foods. It was a four floor building with only the top floor along with a balcony serving food. The other three floors were used for a game no child, or Elise, could ever resist. Lazer tag.

"You know," Elise mumbled, twirling a small plastic trophy on her finger. "I think we all know who's the strongest on our team now." She smiled, leaning back on her chair with a chuckle.

"She's actually actual a lot better than I would have guessed." Maya mumbled as she took a bite of mashed potatoes. "She would make an excellent sniper."

"I agree." Cheyenne looked over at her sister and nodded before looking over at Elise. "If you're this good, we should definitely send you into the double rounds if we win our first round at the tournament."

"Please," Elise waved her arm, leaning forward again as she started to cut into a large steak. "I would bring us straight to first place with honor and victory."

"She is rather good." Prac mumbled with a mouth full of bacon. He and his brothers were so large they were having to use two chairs to sit down.

Fid just nodded, running his hand over his black hair. "She was even able to shoot me without me even noticing."

"Yeah, bet she could shoot a pig from a mile away." Fif added in, cleaning off his large nose which had barbecue sauce on it.

"Well she is a hunter..." Kris mumbled, poking at her salad. All of her teammates then turned to her, blinking rapidly. The red head had never once said the word hunter in a non-snappy or non-hateful tone until now. She just blinked once back at her tean, her eyes wide as she took a bite of her salad.

Kagami just shook her head slightly before looking over at the Varken brothers. "You know, if you guys don't mind me asking, how much do you guys weigh? I mean..." She leaned over and glanced down at the chairs. "You guys are putting a lot of strain on those..."

"Three hundred and fifty pounds." Prac said with a smile.

Fid just grinned, leaning back. "Or a hundred and sixty kilograms."

"All at six and a half feet tall." Fif smiled bright before shoving a large piece of meat into his mouth.

Elise's head lowered some as she groaned softly. "They're even bigger than papa... and he IS a gentle giant..."

"For the love of Oum..." Kris mumbled before she shot to her feet. "How come you guys can get so big but I'm stuck here and so smaaall!?"

There was a moment of silence before a chuckle filled the table. At that, the red had sat back down, her face as red as her hair.

"You know," Elise smiled, picking up her cup. "We should do this more often. All in favor."

Kagami glanced at her other two teammates before shrugging. "Sure, why not."

"I wouldn't mind more events like this." Cheyenne smiled softly.

Kris just groaned, slowly looking up before smiling. "I guess it's not all too bad."

"None of you said aye..." Elise pouted softly, lowering her drink.

Maya gulped softly as she glanced down off the balcony, seeing a truck drive by. The driver being none other than a White Fang member with a passenger who had purple hair. She took a deep breath, praying no one saw. She then groaned mentally as Kris raised an eyebrow over the railing.

"Hey, did any of you see that?" The red head asked.

"See what?" Elise looked over with her. She then blinked a few times, seeing another truck drive past with a White Fang member. "Well now I do." She muttered then grinned, looking over at Kagami. "Please? This day has been so much fun already? Let's make it more fun by taking down villains. Yeah?"

Kagami just sighed softly as she stood up. "Sure, why not." She looked over at the Varken brothers and Maya. "You guys want to join?"

"Always." Prac stood, slamming one first into his palm.

Fid stood up as well, stretching out his arms. "Always good to practice before the tournament."

"Plus," Fif smiled. "Taking down criminals and cults isn't just the policemen's job."

"Well?" Kagami looked at Maya with a smile.

Maya just rolled her eyes, standing up as she crossed her arms and smiled. "I think we are a little young to single handingly take down a corrupt organization."

"But that's the fun part!" Elise grinned. "It will be extremely fun!"

Cheyenne simply stood up calmly, pushing in her seat. Deep down, she still felt so obligated to try and stop the White Fang at whatever they were doing. "Let's go." She muttered, looking up with narrowed eyes.

"Nine, ten, eleven, twelve." Eri sighed, stretching out her arms as she turned around on her heels. "Twelve crates of ammo!" She called out, bored out of her mind. When she was told she would be heading to an old loading bay, she expected a lot more fun than just counting crates of bullets, guns and who knows what else.

She sighed again, looking over as another truck backed in. Almost immediately, Faunus in Grimm masks jumped out and started to unload crate after crate.

"Oh, don't be such a sour puss." Dion mumbled, walking next to her while twirling a chunk of ice in his hand. "I bet a little think such as yourself loves to count. Must be pretty hard too. Can you make it to twenty yet, little girl?" He raised an eyebrow, chuckling softly.

She gritted her teeth, growling up at him. She the stopped and paused, looking over and blinking as the truck that just backed in shook. She raised an eyebrow, watching as Faunus jumped out of it before the truck itself was picked up. Holding it up underneath was three large figures.

"Damn..." Elise mumbled, popping her head into the empty space where the truck once was. "That's... damn..."

"I... can't even..." Kris mumbled, sliding inside.

"Well look who returns." Dion whistled, watching as Kagami followed by Cheyenne and Maya walked inside. "Have we met before now? I think I would remember someone as charming as your five."

"Charming?" Eri rolled her eyes, crossing her arms as she looked over at Kris. "That makeup with that outfit is awful."

The four girls around Kris all blinked once before taking a step back away from the short red head with a burning fuse.

"I'm going to kill her." The red head mumbled, her head throbbing in irritation with both her eyes shut.

"Excuse me," Prac raised an eyebrow as he and his brothers stepped in calmly.

Fid just looked up, glancing around at the White Fang members that popped up out of nowhere holding up rifles. "Ladies, you do realize there is... um..."

"There is a lot of people around us at the moment." Fif took a small step away.

Kagami's head snapped to Elise. "Just follow them. What could go wrong?" She munbled in a mocking tone.

"Okay." Elise held up a finger. "But who agreed to the plan to do such? Hmm?"

"Yea..." Maya narrowed her eyes back at the two before looking back at her teammates. "Prac! Wall! Now!"

"Yes ma'am." He gave a nod, slamming his fist into the ground. Bullets suddenly started to rain through the air just as a large slab of rock shot up to block the eight Huntress and Huntsmen in training from being shot.

"And now we run!" Cheyenne shouted, grabbing Kris' wrist. "Ignore the little blonde! Let's go before we get trampled!"

Kris growled softly, letting herself be pulled across the ground.

As the group started to run, Kagami glanced back as she saw a human sized robot punch straight through the rock wall. "Atlasian Knight!" She called out, looking forward as she started to run faster.

"Great plan!" Maya called out, glaring over at the other team. "Why did I agree to this exactly!?"

"I really don't know why any of us agree to anything Elise says!" Cheyenne shouted back to her twin.

"I am right here!" The brunet quickly snapped back at the two of them.

"Not the time for arguing!" Kagami glanced back again, gritting her teeth as they bolted down old city streets. "Arguing can be a later problem! For now we have a much more drastic issue!"


	23. Fighting For

Hours before, as Kris was getting ready and Cheyenne was calling her sister and the rest of her twin's team to invite them, Kagami was sitting on her bed up on top. Her legs hung off, dangling in the air as she patted down her pillow. Just as she slid her green leather book under her blanket, she felt another weight being distributed across the bed. She glanced over at the other side, blinking a bit at Elise.

"Sooo..." The brunet leaned over, smiling like a pure and innocent child. She had a look in her eyes any friend knew as the look of someone who wanted something. "You know how I said you should let me read more of that?" She paused for only a second, not letting Kagami respond. "Well, that time should be now. Waiting is really boring and Kris is going to take hours."

The jade haired url blinked once, glancing down at her book before back up at Elise with raised eyebrows. It took a moment, but she did end up nodding with a sigh. "Alright, alright." She couldn't help but smile as she rolled her eyes. "But... just one more." She added. There wasn't anyone else every there to even read her writings before she came to Beacon and deep down, whether she wanted to admit it or not, she was happy someone else was curious about how she felt.

"Great!" A bright smile lit up across Elise's face as she scooted over next to her leader and looked over her shoulder. "Open it! Come on! It's really good and-" She was cut off, Kagami putting a hand on her forehead and pushing her away.

"And you love to read and it's really good." She rolled her eyes back at the farm girl before reaching over and grabbing her book. She gave a quick glance at Elise and took a deep breath before she opened it up.

It creaked as it opened, the pages stuff and binding old and hard. It had the smell of books too. The fresh smell of paper followed by the deep scent of ink and the musty smell of old leather. The book alone had a history on itself.

In an instant, Elise was leaning over Kagami's shoulder again as the owner of the journal opened it up to the second page.

"Just one more, okay?" Kagami mumbled, her voice coming off a little shy as she looked over at Elise. When she did so, the young girl was smiling from ear to ear as her eyes darted from the left to the right.

Being brought up with stories of all kinds, and a few she forgot, Elise was completely ecstatic. She just wanted to read and read until her mind couldn't handle anymore. Reading was a way to escape when she wasn't able to go outside. Plus, she couldn't lie, she was curious about it all. Expecially as she kept on reading.

 _You tell me to believe_

 _But why don't you see_

 _I don't know why I'm fighting_

 _I don't know why I'm trying_

 _I don't get why I must have faith in believing_

 _How am I suppose to believe without a drive?_

 _How am I suppose to have faith with nowhere to strive?_

 _What war, what battle, what loyalty even?_

 _All I understand is what it feels like to be be abandoned_

 _Alone, there was no one to turn to_

 _And no one for me to be true to_

 _Trust me dear mother I love you all the same_

 _But do tell me why the hell I keep fighting everyday_

 _There isn't any room for believing-nope!_

 _There's no chance for faith when there's no hope_

 _I don't get the cry of glory_

 _Not even a friendship story_

 _I am the queen, sitting on an ice cold throne_

 _Only understanding how to cope, by being alone_

Once she finished, Elise blinked softly and glanced up over at her team leader. "Is that... you?"

Kagami glanced up at her, shutting the book with a sigh. "It was me. A long time ago."

"And now?" She raised an eyebrow, her eyes showing she was concerned. "What about now?"

"Now..." She trailed off, sighing slightly before looking over at her. She then gave a soft smile. "Now I'm different."

"How much different?" The brunet asked in a small and hushed tone.

The jade haired girl just smiled a little more, leaning back against the wall. She held her book on her lap and looked over. "A lot."

In the present, Elise grunted softly as she wasl pushed back by an Atlasian Knight. She glared up, swinging her baton around before ramming it in the unprotected lower abdomen of the robot. It froze for a moment before it flickered and flinched. A few sparks danced from it as she jerked her baton out, the machine collapsing. Her eyes then went wide at the shadow coming up behind her.

Her head snapped back, seeing a Knight come charging at her. She gritted her teeth, hands going for her rifle. At the speed she was going, she knew she was going way to slow to shoot it before it got to her.

Before the metal creation could touch her though, there was a sound of metal on metal as the robot froze. The dim red light faded from its face before the head slowly fell off of the body as it fell down.

Behind it, Kagami stood with her sword in hand, arm outstretched. She glanced up at Elise, standing up straight. She gave a faint smile, twirling the blade around a bit. "You should try to be more careful."

Elise just rolled her eyes, lifting up her rifle and aiming for her teammate.

The leader calmly bent forward, letting several darts rain across her head and strike the Atlasian Knight coming up behind her. The second the darts struck, sparks danced from them and shorted out the metallic monster.

"And you should learn to watch everything and not get distracted." Elise rested her rifle on her shoulder with a smirk.

Kagami just shrugged, a smile forming across her face. "Isn't that what friends are for? To watch your back."

"You know," Dion mumbled, holding out a scroll with a red screen on it and a chess piece. "Aside from the little pieces of scraps being so easily taken down," He looked over at Eri who had her arms crossed. "The virus seems to work rather well."

Eri sighed, shaking her head as the two of them stood in the distance, watching the eight students fight up against several Knights in an old and sketchy part of Vale City."I could make this so much easier and we wouldn't have to waste so many resources."

"Party pooper..." He mumbled back, running his fingers through his purple hair.

"So these are the new defenders Atlas had come up with?" Prac raised an eyebrow, lifting up a Knight by the head as it flailed its arms and legs around. He sighed, crushing it with pure strength.

Fid grabbed the arms of one, ripping it clean off before it could fire its gun. "They are rather poorly made."

"The only problem is the numbers of them." Fif added before her brought his foot up, kicking the chest of a Knight in.

"They are rather cheaply made..." Cheyenne muttered, firing at one of the robots before turning around to see another face to face with her. She quickly held out her arm and grabbed the wrist of it. She took a deep breath, the metal slowly rusting away. She jerked her head around, looking around quickly before raising her rifle again. "Maya! Get down!"

Maya glanced over at her with raised eyebrows. She then quickly jumped down onto the ground just as a blast from an Atlaian Knight shot over her head. A moment later, there was another blast, this one from Cheyenne, shot over her head. Maya looked up, smiling softly before she jumped to her feet. "Thanks!" She called out.

As the wave of machines came to an end, Kagami blinked slowly as she looked around. "Where's... Kris!?" Her voice shot up with panic.

Said red head was glaring from the top of a building down at Eri. "No one... and I mean no one insults me. No one." She mumbled before jumping down. She pulled out her weapons, letting blades come out the ends as she held them like tonfas. "I'm going to show you what ugly looks like!" She snapped.

Eri sighed a bit before grinning like a devil. She glanced up, letting her blonde hair flow all around her. Her apple red eyes dimmed to a bloody rage color. "I was hoping you would try something like this." She muttered. She flicked her wrist, three claws coming out of her gauntlets.

The two candy cane blades clashed with the claws, metal grinding against metal. Kris gritted her teeth, pushing her weapons forward as hard as I could. "Take back what you said."

"Take back what?" Eri smiled, jerking her arms back as she took several quick steps away. "The fact you look like some five year old drew with crayons on your face?"

The red head growled deeply, charging with her green eyes full of rage.

The short blonde just smiled. She side stepped Kris' weapons as she stuck her foot out. "Whoops!" She muttered, letting her left hand swipe the air. She grinned, watching the claws tear the fabric of a black hoodie followed by flesh.

Kris' eyes went wide as she stumbled forward. She gritted her teeth as she got her balance back. She glared down at her left shoulder, staring at the three red lines. She glared up, only to see a large fist made of ice strike her. It sent her flying back towards the other group of seven.

"And there goes the ball!" Dion called out, grinning with a hand up and blocking the light from his eyes.

"Christmas!" Cheyenne called out, quickly rushing over to where Kris skidded to a stop on the ground.

Kagami quickly followed, Elise rushing over behind her.

"What... the hell...?" Kris muttered, slowly standing up. One hand gripped her bleeding arm tight as she glared. "How the hell did-"

"How the hell did cut through your aura?" Eri chuckled, smiling at the red stained metal of her weapon. "Let's just say, these were made to do that. So I can do this!" She drove the bloody gauntlet into the ground. A bright red and gold demonic glyph appeared around where she stabbed. A moment later, a black figure slowly rose from the ground. After a moment, the figure started to gain features. Kris' featured. But rather than tinting with red hair, it started to gain bright green hair, red eyes, a green shirt, red pants, and a white pair of boots along with a white zipper hoodie.

Prac blinked once, his eyes wide before he took a step back. "What..."

Fid did the same, his eyes even wider than his brother. "...the..."

Fif was practically trembling as his shoulders dropped down. "...hell...?"

The green version of Kris just grinned as the glyph below her faded away. She stretched out her arms a bit, taking a few steps. "Well hello." She chuckled with a demented voice. "The name's Crumpus Grinch." She stretched out her shoulders. "Not like it matters. You'll be dead soon."

"Okay..." Maya blinked rapidly, taking a few steps back. "This is by far... one of the most disturbing things I've ever seen."

Kris was silent, gritting her teeth as she gripped onto her arm tighter. It was stinging like someone had poured lemon juice across it.

Kagami noticed that, quickly looking over at Cheyenne. "Tend to her arm." She mumbled, looking over at the Varken brothers. "You three, take the shirtless man." She then looked between Elise and Maya. "Take Crumpus."

"And you're going to fight the blonde menace alone?" Elise raised an eyebrow, her eyes full of concern. "Are you sure-"

Kagami simply nodded, eyes narrowed at Eri as she gripped her sword tight. "Trust me." She looked back over at Elise. "Trust me, please."

Elise blinked a few times before slowly nodding. She then grinned, looking over at Kris' double. "I think I'm going to enjoy this."

As the two of them spoke, the three Varken brothers all calmly walked up to Dion. Each of their arms were crossed.

"Well, well, well," Dion chuckled, flexing the muscles in his chest. "You three are some rather large fellas." He cracked his knuckles, letting the circles on his gloves glow before he formed ice all around his body. In a few seconds, he was a large Alpha Ursa made of ice. "Now this will be fun." He grinned from inside, looking out of the eyes like they were his own. "Hope you boys are ready."

The three brothers glanced at each other before they grinned.

"Now Ice Man," Prac held up a hand with a grin.

Fid just chuckled, putting his hands behind his head. "There are few people who get to see us at our best."

"And since we feel like being generous today..." Fif smiled, looking over at Prac.

Prac held out his arms, Fif grabbing his left while Fid grabbed his right. Rock slowly started to form around them until they were a giant rock monster. Prac was in the head, eyes narrowed as he moved the legs around.

"You know what's nice about controlling the elements?" Prac asked.

Fid smiled, letting flames appear in the right hand of the rock giant. "We don't have to use Dust for power."

"We are the power!" Fif grinned, talking water from the air as it started to swirl around the left fist.

"And you're about to see what the Varken family can actually do!" The three of them all snapped at the same time, the rock creature they were in readying itself in a fighting stance.

Dion blinked a few times, the head of the ice Grimm tilting its head. "You three... talk really funny." He mumbled.

As the four of them charged at each other, Elise was grinning next to Maya as they stood in front of the green haired double.

"You know," Elise smiled, holding her air compressed rifle tight. "I've always wanted to shoot you in the face. Well... I DID want to all the time. Now it's a come and go feeling."

Crumpus just rolled her eyes, pacing back and fourth at the two of them. "Please, haven't you people ever heard of common sense?" She stopped, turning on her heels to glare at the two. "There is always something about doubles that make us stronger."

"And in every book I have read," The brunet narrowed her eyes. "There's a weakness too."

"And how would you know that? Hm?" She raised an eyebrow. "All you ever do is read and read. Yet you still can't even pass a test."

Maya quickly shot Elise a look, holding up her fist. "She's going to have the memories of Kris. You can't let her get to you."

Elise gritted her teeth, her eyes narrowing more. "Doesn't matter, either way, I'm going to turn the clone to ash."

"I'm not a clone you know." Crumpus put a hand on her hip, pointing at the young farm girl. "I'm more of an anti version. A clone would be the exact replica." She chuckled. "And here I even thought you were smarter than that."

Elise growled softly, suddenly bolting forward.

Maya sighed, her shoulders dropping before she ran after her. "Or don't listen to me. That's cool too."

A ways away, sitting up against a building, Kris grimaced as Cheyenne took off her hoodie and rolled up her sleeve. "Ow... OW!" She let out, doing her best to remain still.

Cheyenne just softly sighed, staring at the wound. She tilted her head slightly, seeing green start to form over it. "Listen, I don't know what in the world she cut you with, but it's becoming infected really quick." She muttered, suddenly rummaging through her pockets.

"What are you doing...?" The red head raised an eyebrow.

The Faunus looked up, blinking a few times as she pulled out some gauze from her pockets. "I always have random stuff in my pockets." She then pulled out a screwdriver followed by string, paper clips, a miniature bottle of shampoo, a half eaten gronalo bar and a set of orange buttons.

Kris blinked rapidly before tilting her head. "Do you... always have that stuff?" She raised her other eyebrow.

Cheyenne gave a small shrug. "It changes from day to day. I just grab whatever and stuff them in here. I learned to do it while growing up. I needed everything I could."

Kris just nodded softly, slowly looking over at Kagami and Eri. "You think she'll be okay...?" She mumbled.

"She said trust her." She glanced over before picking up the bottle of shampoo. She then grabbed the sleeve of Kris' hoodie. "Now... this may sting a bit. But it's all I got to clean it."

The small girl gritted her teeth a little, quickly nodding as she shut her eyes.

"So," Eri grinned, stretching out her arms as she flung the blood off of her claws. "You think you can stop me by yourself. You saw what happened to your friend. One cut and she was down."

Kagami's eyes narrowed as she held up her sword, her jaw clenched. "That won't happen."

"And what makes you so sure?" She tilted her head.

"Because," She tightened her grip on the hilt of her sword. "I know exactly what I'm fighting for now."

"And what's that?" Eri let her blonde hair fall around her face as she got down in a low crouch.

Kagami simply smriked, pushing off with her back foot and running forward. "Wouldn't you like to know!"


	24. Wake Me Up When This Nightmare Ends

In the mist of the still and silent air, a fist of solid rock came crashing into a large claw made of ice. Both broken pebbles and shattered shards of frozen water shot out, spraying across the ground and air.

"You wretched pigs!" Dion snapped, bringing the other Ursa paw made of ice around. It glided through the air like a bullet, smashing into a brick hand that gripped it tight. As Dion grinded his teeth together, he jumped and rammed the back feet of the ice Grimm into the rock monsters chest.

The three Varken brothers all flashed a grin at the same time, their bright white teeth gleaming. Prac brought jerked his arms upward, bringing the creature of ice up into the air. Still gripping the hands of the beast tight, the rock monster jumped up into the air, flipping a bit so Dion was below it. It shoved its feet downward onto the Ursa's chest, driving it into the ground with an eruption of power and force.

"Fid!" Prac shouted, moving the rocky hands to let go of the ice.

With one fist already starting to set into flames, Fid quickly responded. "Already on it!"

"Then here we go!" Fif grinned, watching as the fiery fist made of stone came crashing down into the chest of the Ursa.

"Hell... hot, hot, hot!" Dion shouted, his bright blue ice around him gaining a bright red glow. In a matter of seconds, the monster made of ice shattered, sending Dion scrambling on his feet away. As he stood up straight, he was breathing heavy. His hands balled up in tight fist as he looked up with narrowed eyes. He blew some of his messy purple hair from his eyes before held out his hands. His gloves immediately glowing blue. "You're going to pay for that."

The three twin brothers just smirked again as the giant made of rock stretched its arms. "Bring it." The three of them said in unison, watching as a much larger than life Beowolf started to form around Dion in ice.

As they started back up again, Elise grunted each time she slashed her baton through the air. "Come! On! Damn! It!" She brought the stick around, striking nothing but air as Crumpus casually stepped to the side to dodge.

The green haired double chuckled, her arms behind her back as she took a step back. She simply smiled at the baton which came less than an arms length from her face. "Missed again. You know, you're rather awful at fighting. You sure becoming a Huntress is such a good idea?" She chuckled a bit more, seeing the fury in the brunet's eyes.

Elise gave off a scream, bringing her baton down in another sideways slash. She only had time to blink once before a white boot smashed into her chin. She grunted heavily, her head snapping back. She went several feet back before being caught in Maya's arms.

"Don't you listen?" She asked, helping the farm girl regain her balance.

Reaching up, she rubbed her chin a little and moved her jaw around. She glared over in Crumpus' direction, watching the green haired demon stick her tongue out and mock her.

Maya took a deep breath, putting a hand on Elise's shoulder when the farm girl started to growl. "You can't let her get to you." She muttered. Her head then snapped up, her eyes locking with Crumpus as she spoke.

"You keep telling her that but wouldn't you think by now that she isn't listening to you?" She grinned, sticking her hands in her white hoodie pockets. "Then again, why would anyone listen to you?" She started to chuckle. "Nothing but a child who was given away. Forgotten. Abandoned. Unloved. Perhaps your parents just loved your sister more-" She stopped, a wicked smiled forming as she saw a flicker of anger in Maya's eyes.

Elise blinked once, taking a step away from Cheyenne's twin as the winds around her started to pick up and blow her hair all around. "I'm going to kill you." She faintly muttered, her eyes locking with the red ones Crumpus had. "I am going to rip your spine out!" She snapped, darting forward as high speed winds shot out towards Crumpus.

"Well," Elise blinked again. "So much for being a hypocrite." She ran after her, gripping her baton tight.

The hum of metal vibrating shot through the air as Kagami's sword made contact with the metal claws of Eri's gauntlets. Both weapons locked with each other, the muscles of both girls' arms flexing and tensing to keep them locked in place.

With soft breathing, Eri gave a half amused smile. "You know, you're really not that bad." She pushed harder with her arms, causing Kagami to take a small step back.

"And you..." Kagami flashed a smile back, panting a little as well. "I bet you would like nicer in a prison jumpsuit rather than the weird outfit you have on."

The short golden haired girl smirked, her apple red eyes glowing in the light. She couldn't lie, she was happy to be out of her prison uniform and in her regular clothes. In her hair was a red and black bow, the red on the right side and black on the left. It kept her short wavy hair somewhat in place along with a few red and black pins. Her nails were once again pointed and sharp, painted their bloody color they always were. Her skinny black bra straps were showing with ease in the black off the shoulder top she was wearing. On the chest was two arches ontop in red that slid down her sides and stopped at her waist. There, her bright red scuba shirt glimmered with the trim covered in gold and lined with golden apples that each had a bite taken out of them. All while she wore a pair of red high heels that made her much taller than she normally would be.

"What? Are you trying to redeem your poor red head friend for looking so rachat in her outfit?" She tilted her head, pressing harder with her arms. Though her arms were skinny as could be, they were solid as a rock from muscle.

"Maybe." Kagami gave a shrug back. "Isn't that what leaders are suppose to do?" She smirked, suddenly relieving the force she was exerting with her sword.

Eri's eyes went wide as she stumbled forward a bit. She growled, her head snapping up at her opponent before she grunted as a foot rammed into her side and sent her stumbled back. "Okay. You're a thorn in my side now."

Twirling her sword, Kagami readied herself. "And you're a little bug who harmed my friends." She held up her weapon, charging forward.

Eri snarled, slashing with her gauntlets. Each time she went to attack, Kagami blocked it with a heavy grunt with her sword. The metal clashed over and over, sending off small vibrations through both girls' arms. It came to a point a numbness started to take over.

Panting a little heavier this time, Kagami took a step back. She held her sword upside down, blocking the claws from the blonde menace's left gauntlet again. No sooner than she did, the blonde flashed a wicked smile. She twisted her left arm a bit, a ting sounding throughout the air. Gritting her teeth, the leader of MACE went to jerk her sword out only to find it stuck.

"It's time for this to end!" Eri snapped, bringing her right arm up and then down as quick as she could.

With wide eyes, Kagami released her grip on her hilt, taking a quick step away. As her blade fell to the ground and clattered, she inhaled as quick as she could and held her breath.

She may have been fast, but she wasn't fast enough. As Eri's brought her gauntlet down, it rammed into her right shoulder. To this, the young blonde smiled like the devil. She quickly took a step back, holding up her right hand. She then blinked, not seeing a spec of blood.

"What..." She muttered quietly before her head shot up with narrowed eyes. "What the hell!?" Her jaw tightened, eyes setting ablaze in fury.

"You know how your blades were made specially to cut through one's aura?" Kagami reached down, picking up her sword as she brushed off her right shoulder. "So was this hoodie. No matter what you stab or slice at it with, it's not going to cut." She stretched her right shoulder a bit. Though it did protect her, she still felt the force of the impact which wasn't very nice. "I would tell you why, but I don't think you'd believe me."

Growling deeply, Eri shot forward at her. "You're going to suffer slow and painfully!"

Kagami quickly brought her sword up, her shoulder out of wack at the moment. Because of this, when Eri struck down with both her gauntlets, she didn't have the strength at all too keep it up at all.

Her arms went down, her sword flying from her hands. As she looked up, her tea green eyes went wide before they quickly shut. She jerked her head back, the middle claw of Eri's weapon slicing into her cheek. She grimaced, quickly stumbling back as a hand reached up to cover the red line. It was burning like fire.

This time, a confident and wicked look filled Eri's eyes. Their red apple color quickly changed to a crimson red. "End of the line!" She shouted, holding up her arm to stab the claws into the ground.

Gritting her teeth, Kagami lunged forward. There was no way her friends could handle another double. She caught the blonde girl's arm, gripping it tight.

The blonde seemed rather surprised at this alone. And even more surprised when her opponent shook down the sleeve on her hoodie and gripped the blade with the blood on it. "Hey!" She snapped, jerking her arm away.

As she did so, Kagami let go of her wrist and let the claw slide away in her grip, cleaning the blood off it. She then quickly jumped back, breathing softly.

"Damn you..." Eri grumbled eyes locked with Kagami's.

The jade haired girl then blinked, the stinging pain from the mark on her cheek fading away. She blinked a little more, glancing over at Kris before over at Crumpus then back at Eri. She blinked again, a light bulb flicking on inside her head.

"Elise!" She shouted at the top of her lungs, looking over at her teammate. Her full attention was locked on the brunet who looked away from the double she was fighting. "You gotta kill whatever the hell that thing is before it kills Kris! That's why her wound isn't getting any better-umph!" She shut her eyes tight, the heel of Eri's shoes colliding with her gut. She hunhed over some before a fist rammed into her face and sent her back.

With a growl and claws retracted back into her gauntlets, Eri let out a hiss as she charged at Kagami again. "I'm going to kill you myself now!"

With half wide eyes, Cheyenne looked down at Kris with a faint gulp. The younger girl was starting to sweat now. "Hey, hey, Christmas." The deer Faunus muttered, nudging her softly.

The red head simply groaned back, leaning her head against the building. "Go help Kagami..." She mumbled, her chest rising and falling heavily. "And be careful..." She gave a faint smile. "I may hate Elise... but I have enough faith in her to not let me die..." She then raised an eyebrow. "Maybe."

Cheyenne quickly nodded, patting her teammate's shoulder gently before jumping up and darting towards Eri and Kagami.

Elise gulped some, gripping her baton tight as Maya was thrown back at her side. She gave a faint sigh, holding out her hand to help the other girl up. "Come on."

Giving a faint smile, Maya held on tight and grunted softly as she was pulled up. She theb looked over, staring at Crumpus with narrowed eyes. "She's going to be hard to beat."

"I know," The brunet glanced back at Kris before taking a deep breath. "But we're going to have to stop her."

"Have a plan?" Maya raised an eyebrow in her direction.

"Yeah." The adventurous girl grinned a bit before pushing Maya forward. "It's called winning."

Maya simply rolled her eyes, letting fists of wind form around her hands as she charged at Crunpus with a scream. While she threw punch after punch, the green haired double dodged again and again.

"Can't hit what you can't catch!" She mocked, chuckling softly as she reached up and caught both fist. Maya's breath hitched a little before she started to grimace at the painful grip Crumpus had on her hands. "What?" She tilted her head, dodging a blow for Elise's baton. "Too hard?"

Both Maya and Elise growled, Elise quickly putting her baton at her side and drawing her air compressed rifle. "Let go of her!" She fired off a plane dart, aiming for Crumpus' shoulder.

The double glanced back, her eyes going a bit wide. She quickly dropped Maya, jumping out of the way of the dart. Elise blinked once a that, flinging her rifle over her shoulder before she rushed over to help her up. Sue blinked a few tines, taking in Crumpus' reaction to being shot at. She then grinned, looking over in Maya's direction.

"What?" She raised an eyebrow back. "Is there something in my teeth?"

"No." The farm girl grinned more. "I know how to stop her."

"Really?" Her eyebrows both went up. "How?'

"There was a story mama told me once about these little trolls who would cause mischief. No one could stop them. And this girl who was getting blamed for everything they did tried her best to stop them. It took her a while, because she couldn't even touch them, but after a bit, she figured out how to stop them." She smirked.

"Annnnnd?" Maya narrowed her eyes a bit.

"One shot." She crossed her arms. "One hit. One blow. One whatever. All we have to do is strike that green grinch and it should be all over."

"And you're assuming this from a story you were told as a kid?" She shook her head with a sigh. She then tossed her arms up some, looking up. "You know what, okay. Let's try this. We have nothing to lose. What do you need me to do?"

"Distract her." Elise mumbled, already climbing up the side of a building.

Maya blinked a few times, watching her scale the building. "I... that is easier said than done!" She quickly shouted before she yelped. She dodged under a candy cane just in the nick of time.

"What? You're little friend ditch you finally?" Crumpus smirked, twirling her weapons around like tonfas. "She's smart to cut her loses and run."

Growling softly, Maya gritted her teeth and held up her hands. "Come at me you little twerp." She grumbled, air spinning around her arms and legs.

The two of them bolted towards each other, Maya literally blowing shots that were fired at her away with the swipe of her hand.

Seeing shooting was doing nothing, Crumpus let the blades come out of the ends of the weapons before letting the chains out stretch. With a grin, she started to swing them around like chain bladed whips. "Move faster if you know what is good for you!"

Maya gritted her teeth, jumping up higher than normal people, with the help of air pushing her up as well, to dodge the blades. She barely had time, each time they passed by her they were less than a foot away. "You know!" She shouted. "This would ne a greag time to help me, Elise!"

"Why don't you stand still!" Crumpus snapped, flinging her weapon around a lamp post. She tugged on it hard before pulling herself into the air.

Maya's eyes went wide as Crumpus collided with her. She grunted, hitting the ground as her winds died down. She shook her head some, looking up. Her eyes went wide again as she rolled over, a blade driving through the ground where her head once was.

"I said stay still!" The green haired double narrowed her red eyes, going to stab Maya again. Once again though, the Huntress in training barely had time to roll out of the way. This time, the blade cut a few strains of her hair.

"Damn it..." Maya let out, panting softly as she rolled out of the way again. She quickly pushed herself up to her feet, preparing herself. Her eyes quickly shot wide as Crumpus braced her fist against Maya's chest and sent her back into a wall. Maya let out a small gasp, moving her head upward as the blades of the candy canes pressed up against her neck in an x.

"Now," Crumpus narrowed her eyes, pressing a little harder. "It's time for you to die."

Maya's eyes went wide before she quickly shut them. "Elise! Elise! Elise! Elise! Elise!" She yelped out in a high pitched voice.

As Crumpus smiled, her body suddenly gave a faint flinch and went stiff. Maya slowky opened one eye, looking at the person seconds away from killing her. She took a few deep breaths, watching as the figure slowly turned grey. As a cool breeze came through, it did nothing but blow away like dust. When it did, a dart with several large claws fell onto the ground at her feet.

Maya gulped, blinking a few times before looking up at the top of the building. Up above, Elise was holding up a thumb with a bright smile. Maya blinked a bit before letting out s huff of air and slowly sliding down the wall to sit. "I'm done for today..." She muttered.

Once Crumpus was gone, Kris gave off a soft groan, glancing down at her arm. The green in the three marks was slowly fading away. She took a deep breath, leaning her head back. "Thanks..." She muttered.

Meanwhile, Cheyenne grunted as she was kicked back into a wall. She groaned softly, shaking her head a bit. She looled up, gripping her Atlas rifle tight. She gritted her teeth, glaring up at Eri.

"You know," Eri smirked a bit, checking out her nails. "The green haired one was definitely better than you."

The Faunus gulped a bit, raising her gun up. She glanced over at Kagami who was rubbing her head with a groan before locking eyes with Eri. "She's my leader. Of course she's better." She squeezed the trigger, sending a blast in her direction.

Eri calmly jumped over it before ducking down as another blast was fired over her head. She side stepped to the right and then the left, dodging two more rounds shot. "Why don't you actually shoot me?" She called out, looking up at a blast that was shot several meters above her head. "That one wasn't even close-!" She was cut off, grunting as a much larger blast struck her in the chest while she was distracted.

Cheyenne let out a sigh of relief, blowing on the smoking large barrel below the smaller barrel of her weapon. "I will have you know I was one of the best snipers in the White Fang at one point. I don't just fire one shot," She let her rifle go back into the single, smaller barrel form. "I fire multiple to distract smart little brats like you."

Growling, Eri brushed herself off and started walking towards her. She flicked her wrist, claws coming out. "I'll show you what a brat can do." Her eyes narrowed before she ran forward.

The Faunus raised her eyebrows, quickly holding up her gun in a way for close combat. That was never really her thing. She so much would rather prefer sitting in a tree and hitting her target.

She gave a soft grunt, blocking the bladed gauntlets with her weapon. She shoved the small girl back, taking steps away herself. She raised her arms up, aiming and then firing.

Snarling, Eri reflected each blast off her with her gauntlets. There was a bloody anger boiling in her eyes. She just kept coming close and closer.

Cheyenne gulped at that, taking small steps of her own away.

"Enough!" The blonde roared, launching herself up into the air. Coming downward, she had both her arms above her head to stab the Faunus in front of her.

Cheyenne's eyes went wide as she held up her rifle. She gulped, preparing to fire until a chain with a red and white striped piece of metal wrapped around Eri.

The blonde blinked once, her eyes going a bit wide as her eyebrows raised. She quickly looked over, spotting Kris.

"Don't forget about me!" Kris jerked on her weapon, still panting slightly. She sent Eri flying above the rooftops, smiling at her screams before they went silent. "You pissed me off!"

Cheyenne blinked several times before letting out a huff of air and falling to her knees. She leaned her head back, setting her rifle down as she went to rub her face. "I don't like that girl... she scares me..." She muttered as Kris stumbled over and popped down next to her.

"I'm really tired..." The red head muttered.

The Faunus gave a soft smile, putting an arm around her. "Don't worry... you can rest now..." She then flinched, her entire body tensing as the large rock mass with the three Varken brothers inside was thrown by a Beowolf the size of half a building. As the rock struck ground, it shattered into a million pieces.

"Damn..." Prac muttered, slowly pushing himself up to his hands and knees.

Fid rolled over onto his back, rubbing his head. "That hurt..."

"No duh..." Fif mumbled, rubbing his sides.

"Hell..." Elise mumbled quietly, sliding down the side of a drainage pipe.

Chuckling softly, Dion let the ice around him shattered. He started to walk forward, it raining down the shattered ice like snow. "Well, well, well, I guess we know the answer to the age old question. Ice DOES beat rock." He grinned a bit, striding up towards the three brothers. He then paused, taking a step back as a dart pierced the ground at his feet. He raised an eyebrow, looking over at the brunet charging at him. "Oh, looks like I got another date." He glanced over at the Varken brothers. "Sorry guys, looks like our four way pairing can't be a thing tonight." He chuckled a bit more, cracking his neck as he looked at Elise.

Elise narrowed her eyes, leanig her rifle over her shoulder. "You know," She tilted her head as her eyes narrowed. "It's not very nice for you to beat up my friends like that."

"Oh yeah?" He raised an eyebrow, running his fingers through his purple hair. He then smirked, flashing his bright white teeth. "And what is a little lady like yourself going to do anout it?"

She immediately took aim with her gun, one eye shut as she stuck her tongue out. She gave a faint smile, aiming straight at his crotch.

He blinked once, seeing her fire. He quickly jumped up, spreading his legs out wide. "Hell!" He yelped, just barely jumping over a dart that sparked with electricity.

"I'll do that!" Elise snapped, bolting towards the criminal.

Landing back down on his feet, Dion lifted his head up and glared. "Little brat..." He grumbled. He brought his hands up to his chest. He twisted the dial on his right glove before sighing. He reached down, pulling out an ice Dust crystal and putting it into the glove. He twisted the dial again before running straight at her. "Hope you're ready to kiss me!" He chuckled, holding out his right hand as a long staff made of ice formed.

Elise narrowed her eyes, throwing her rifle over her shoulder as she grabbed her baton from her waist. "Old men should learn not to play with little girls." She muttered. "It's very disrespectful."

He snarled at her, bringing the staff around. She brought up her baton, holding it with two hands to block. When she did, Dion brought his foot up, ramming it into her hip. She grimaced, stumbling back a bit before bringing her baton around. He calmly blocked it with his ice weapon, leaning forward and grinning.

"So who do you think you are? A little hunter pretending she can fight villains?" He chuckled softly before grunting as a fist rammed into his nose. He stumbled back, letting his ice staff shatter as he reached up to rub his nose. "Ow! Damn it! Damn!"

"Stop giving me that look!" Elise snapped. "Mama would pepper spray you and papa would skin you alive if they caught you looking at me like that! You're such a pervert!"

Dion shot his head up, eyes narrowing. "Hey!" He snapped. "No reason to get upset over those boys being more cute than you!"

The farm girl's eye twitched a little as a vein pounded out ontop of her head. "I am really, REALLY tired of you." She took a deeo breath, changing from her baton to her rifle in a matter of seconds. She held up her gun, aiming. "It's time you be quiet."

He blinked once, raising an eyebrow. He then sigh, holding up his hand as a shield formed, blocking several darts. "You were fun at first. But now you're just an angry ball of nothingness." As he heard her scream, he let his shield shatter. He quickly knelt down, putting his hand on the ground. He took a deep breath, spikes of ice shooting up through the ground in Elise's direction.

The farm girl's eyes went a bit wide. She quickly pivoted on her heels and bolted on the other direction. She only made it a few steps before ice incased her left foot. Her body immediately smacked into the ground with a thud, her rifle flying from her grip. She groaned a bit, slowly pushing herself up. She looked back, trying to move her left leg only to find it lodged in the ice.

"What's wrong, little girl?" Dion smiled, walking up beside her. "Are hou stuck?"

She gritted her teeth, glaring up at him as she jerked on her leg more and more. "That's cheep!"

"It's the name of the game out here on the streets, little lady." He smirked. "Cheep shots are what keeps your life!" He shouted, bringing his foot back.

Elise's eyes quickly shut as his foot made contact with her face. A bright white light flashed in her eyes as her head slammed back into the ground. She groaned deeply, opening one eye. She reached down, grabbing her baton.

"Not happening!" Dion snapped, kicking it from her hand before his heel rammed into her side. She softly cried out, clenching her eyes shut. "Come on, girly!" He kicked her side again. "Aren't you going to fight back? Huh!" His rammed his foot into her side over at over.

She grunted each time, Cheyenne gulping slightly as she held onto Kris whocwas almost unconscious. The Faunus then went to stand, only stopping as she saw Kagami walk past.

Kris blinked a little, glancing up at Kagami before over at the ground where her sword laid. "Doesn't... she need that?" She raised an eyebrow softly.

"I... don't know what she's doing..." Cheyenne muttered.

As Kagami walked forward, she reached up, brushing the blood from the cut on her cheek. "Hey!" She snapped, glaring at Dion.

Said criminal raised an eyebrow, looking back with a chuckle. "What? You want some of this now?" He turned to face her all the way.

The jade haired girl simply grinded her teeth together, her fingers playing at the black rings on her fingers. She paused several paces away from Dion before her head shot over towards the Varken brothers. "Fif!" She snapped, making siad brother look up.

Fif Varken blinked a few times, his muddy brown eyes filled with confusion. He tilted his head slightly, his actions saying he was completely lost.

The two of them locked eyes, each of them piercing into each other's pupils. Kagami quickly shut her eyes, looked away as her head moved in the direction of Dion. She took several slow and deep breaths, clearly focusing hard on something.

"Come on, kid! I don't have all day!" Dion called out. He held out his hand, forming a large hammer. "I'm sick of all of you!"

Kagami took another deep breath, sliding one foot back slowly. She then shot her hand forward. As she did so, melted ice gathered up from the ground and formed ito a spear of spinning water. It struck the ice that kept Elise still, shattering it like class.

Dion only had time to blink once before Kagami charged right at him. Her eyes shot open, now a deep dark muddy brown. She jumped up, holding her hands above her head. She flicked her black rings again before she took another deep breath. From the rings came a black mist which slowly formed into a large and solid metal pipe.

"The hell..." Dion mumbled, bring his ice hammer around to strike the black pipe. They both clashed. For a second, everything was still as possible. The next, both the ice and black shattered like glass.

Elise blinked a few times, watching each of Kagami's movement. Noticing her eyes. "...no...way..." Was all she could let out as she sat up.

Dion gritted his teeth, holding out his hands. Before anything could form though, a black fist rammed into his chest and sent him flying back.

Kagami took another deep breath, letting the black hand shatter. She looked around, gritting her teeth. On the outside, she was as calm and as collective as she could be. On the inside though, her heart was racing at at least two hundred beats per minute and a sharp and peiricig pain was coursing through her eyes. She turned around more, swiping her hands upward as water followed from Dion's melted ice. She picked it up, glaring over in the purple haired man's direction.

As Dion started to stand, he shook his head and looked up, only to fall back down onto the ground as water crashed into him. With her jaw clenched, Kagami landed on her feet near him. She raised her hands, her heartbeat going faster and faster as the pain in her eyes grew worse. As her hands went up, the water went up.

Now drenched in water, Dion growled softly. His hair was dripping wet. His head shot up as his arm went out. Rather then take the time go make something, he simply let a large chunk of ice form and fly out, striking Kagami in the chest.

That was it and Kagami knew it.

Her eyes went wide then quickly shut before she fell back and struck the ground. The water fell, splashing out over her and Dion. She immediately started to cough, rolling over onto her side. She wasn't getting up. Not at the moment. She kept her eyes clenched shut as she slowly curled up. Her breathing was rapid and all over the place. Hearing footsteps nearby, she looked up, her eyes back to their tea green. She gulped, panting heavily as she glared up at Dion.

"You..." He took several deep breaths, his shoulders rising and falling. "You're dead." His eyes narrowed as he raised his hand.

Kagami gulped, gritting her teeth before she quickly shut her eyes. There was then a loud thud that ran throughout the area. Slowly, she opened one eye, glancing up.

There, Dion's eye twitched as he went stiff. Between his leg was Elise's baton. He let out a small high pitched noise before falling over. Behind him, Elise was standing while breathing heavily. Her body was aching. She was pretty sure everyone else's was too.

Both Elise and Kagami stared at each other for a moment, silence filling the air. Finally, after what felt like forever, Elise put her baton on her waist and then reached down with a hand towards Kagami. "Come on."

Up above on the rooftops, Eri slowly rubbed her chin. "Hmmm..." Her eyes narrowed at the scene that just happened before she turned on her heels and walked off. "Valentine will be interested in this."

In an old warehouse, laying on a bed, Valentine slowly shifted from side to side like she was having a horrible dream. It became loud enough that Nihilus decided to go check on what the matter was. When he opened the doors to the room she was in, he blinked a few times and tilted his head.

On the bad, Valentine was laying there with her teeth clenched. Her blanket was kicked off and her body was sweating. As he went to speak, she suddenly sat up with a scream followed by heavy breathing.

She reached up, rubbing her eyes softly as Nihilus stepped inside. "Hey, Valentine, what's-" He stopped himself, blinking as she looked up. Rather than golden eyes, they were blue. A pale ocean blue. "Val...?" He muttered almost under his breath.

The pink haired girl shot her head up. Now, there was a much more innocent look in jer eyes and in her movements. She gulped, gripping the blanket tight. "Sh-She let that monster go... she just laughed as all of those people w-were killed a-and..."

"Val," Nihilus stepped forward, holding out his hands. For once, he had an actual soft and caring smile on his face. "Val, it's okay. It's okay, alright?" He tried to calm her down, seeing the panic in her eyes.

"But she just stood by and-!" She started shouting then was quickly cut off.

Nihilus took a deep breath, keeping hand over her mouth. "Val. Do not scream. If you scream, Thanaton will come in here and you know how she is when she realized Valentine isn't in control anymore."

Gulping, Val slowly nodded. Her bright blue eyes were full of fear.

After a moment, he slowly pulled his hand away and sigh. "Alright." He took a deep breath, glancing at the door. "You know you have to go back to sleep soon and let Valentine be the one to wake up this time."

"But I don't like her..." She spoke in a hushed voice. "She... she's a killer... and whe she is under my skin it feels awful... and I feel so cold when she is in control..." Her jaw clenched. "I want Salem to-" She was cut off, once again, Nihilus' hand over her mouth.

"You know we aren't suppose to say Her name. Thanaton will show you what real pain feels like." He tried to give another soft smile as he moved his hand down. "It will be alright. Valentine is doing what needs to be done. We have to purge this world."

"That's... it's not the right way to go though..." She muttered back.

Sighing, Nihilus rolled his eyes and slowly started to move his hand closer to Val's. "I know, I know, but you need to go back to sleep and let Valentine come back. It's too dangerous here for you." He grabbed her hand, slowly pushing her back down.

Gulping, Val went to speak but stopped herself. This boy, this young man, she knew secrets that would tear his life apart as well as his sister's. Both of them deserved to know. But instead, like always, she simply shut her eyes and gulped. She shivered a little, not wanting to.

"Just let Valentine come back." Nihilus muttered softly, putting a hand on her forehead.

"Easier said than done..." She mumbled. "How would you like a soul sucking murderer inside you all the time?"

He flashed a small smile, crossing his arms. "It would be better than my soul that I have right now." He took a step away.

Val gave a soft sigh, opening one eye to look up at him. "I don't want to go back to sleep..." She gulped, her blue eye filling with fear again. "What if she kills someone again...?"

Nihilus softly shook his head, opening the door. "Just remember, it isn't you. It's her." He started to step out. "Even if you are both in one body..." He muttered as the door shut.

Laying in her bed silently, Val quickly started to rub hef eyes. She was alone again. " I hate you... I hate you so gosh darn much! I HATE you!" She shouted as loud as she could. Isnide her head, all she heard was a simple voice whispering back at her. At the sound of the voice, Val cried out again before shoving her face into her pillow.

With rapid breathing and watery eyes, she quietly mumbled to herself over and over. "My name is Val N. Tina... I am not Valentine... my name is Val N. Tina... I am not Valentine... my name is Val N. Tina... I am not Valentine... my name is Val N. Tina... I am not Valentine... my name... is not... Valentine..." She whimpered out, curling up.


	25. The Case Of Ms Valentine And Val N Tina

It all began twenty years ago. Towards the east of Vale City, there was a very small town which has now been long since destroyed. But back then, back before several waves of Grimm overpowered and tore down building after building, back then, the town was full of life and joy. Children would dance in the streets as the men guarded the boundaries with unyielding bravery and women made sure there food for all. It was a happy village, a proud and hapoy village with a heart and soul. One of the biggest hearts in all the houses, inns and taverns though, was a small girl by the name of Val.

She may have been only fourteen, but the whole entire population knew her by name. She always had a bright smile on her face, not matter what. Her heart was pure as could be. Love, at times, seemed to be radiating from her. She could never turn down helping anyone at all every day since she could walk, she would go out into the forest, plucking a basket full of apples before coming back into the inner city and handing them out to people. Val was the nicest person anyone could have ever met.

At times, the young girl would even enter the town's hospital without a care in the world. She wasn't afraid of getting sick at all. She simply waltzed in at times and talked to the sick and elderly for hours on end. Whether it was luck or just her pure heart and happiness, she never once got ill from visiting. And it wasn't like it was a chore for her to go, she enjoyed the stories of those who had been all around Remnant who were travelers and those who had seen more days than she could count. Val loved to listen to them, to make them feel as if someone was still paying attention to them even though they were stuck in a room all day.

Val N. Tina was pure love and happiness. You couldn't just ignore her bright white smile. Or the smell of coco beans when she was cooking chocolate. Out of the entire village, even the adults, no one could cook better sweets than her. The chocolate she made was simply to die for and every piece she handed out had a small heart with an upside down V in it made with white chocolate on the bottom. It was her own special signature, her way of putting love into what she made and handed out to the world.

This is just who Val is.

This was who Val was. This is who she use to be.

All of that changed once day when she decided to go a little farther into the forest to pick strawberries for her neighbor. Humming to herself, she sat on the ground in front of a strawberry bush, plucking one off at a time and making sure it was perfect before laying it in a basket with care. She couldn't just give her neighbor a rotten or a too small strawberry. That would be far too rude of her.

"And fifty." The pink haired girl with bright blue eyes smiled, placing another strawberry in the basket. "Exactly fifty perfect strawberries." She jumped to her feet, spinning around in her dark pink skirt before snatching the basket up. She smiled, inhaling the fresh air as she looked up at the sky. "It's such a beautiful day!" She shouted, twirling on her feet a bit more before she stopped, doing her best to keep her balance. "Whoa... whoa, whoa. Okay, too much. Don't fall over."

She softly giggled, brushing her long pink hair back with her right hand before it went down to hold the basket along with her left. "It's still a really pretty day though." She gave a soft smile before skipping along back towards her village.

The sad part is, she would never make it back.

It is likely that Val would have skipped all the way home had it not been for the figure that appeared in the pathway she was going down. She slowed her pace, blinking a few times. In the distance, she could see a figure with white hair and a long black robe that hid her feet.

Val gulped a little as she came closer and closer. There was an eerie and awful feeling emminating from the being. It only took a few more steps for the young girl to decide she should step away into the trees and hide from veiw before she was spotted.

So as silently as she could, she walked around the trees until she came within a clear veiw of the person on the path. Once she did, she froze.

Val went completely stiff at the sight of the deadly looking woman. Her skin was as pale as a corpse with veins jetting out and her eyes were simply terrifying. With red glowing irises and black surrounded them, she looked as if she was something that came straight from the dead to kill every living soul.

Val only tensed up more as something slowly floated over towards the demonic woman. A Grimm. Val gulped deeply, her hands starting to shake as she saw her first Grimm. She had heard enough stories to know what type it was. It was a Geist and by the looks or it. The creature of darkness seemed to be communicating with the woman.

With shaky limbs, the young girl with pink hair took a step back. She jumped, hearing her foot slowly crunch upon a twig. In an instant, her back was braced up against a tree. Her breathing was rapid, her chest rising and falling rapidly. She had no clue what to do. No clue where she should hide or run to either. She inahled a shaky breath, slowly peaking around the tree to look in the direction of the woman and Geist.

To her surprise though, nothing was there. She blinked, tilting her head some. Had she imagined it all? She shook her head, turning back around.

Her eyes then went wide at the sight of the Grimm face to face with her. She gave off a cry, dropping her basket of strawberries. She quickly turned around, bumping into the woman in the black robe. She screamed even louder, looking back and forth between the two of them. She was shaking from her skin to her bones. Fear was coursing through her veins and pounding away at her skull.

Val took a step back towards the tree, her back bracing up against the bark of it. She gulped, quietly whimpering before she shut her eyes.

"It seems we have an intruder." Salem's wicked voice slid through the air with a bone chilling effect. Her slim hand slowly reached up, gripping Val's chin.

The small girl whimpered more, slowly opening her eyes. The light blue eyes slowly begging for whatever this with may give her.

Giving a half amused smile at the girl cowaring in fear, she slowly pulled her hand back. "It is becoming more difficult for me to come out here." Salem glanced over at the Geist. "Perhaps assistance will be required to rid this world of Ozpin." Her head snapped back to Val. In an instant, her hand shoved her forehead back so her hea hit the back of the tree. "This may hurt, a lot."

With a rapidly pounding heart, Val did her best to thrash around though it didn't do much. Salem reached up with her other hand, gripping the young girl's jaw and forcing her mouth open. She simply cried our in horror and fear at this, her eyes clenching shut.

With a high pitched whistle, Salem looked over at the Geist. The creature itself gave off a confused movement, looking at the pink haired girl. It quickly just shook its head, floating up into the sky a bit.

As it decended, it spun around. The black mist around it turning into a miniature tornado as the spikes slowly seeped into the darkness and were covered.

With eyes opening and going wide, Val screamed as the creature forced it's way down her throat. Her entire body started to shake as her eyes clenched shut again. Her screams were slowly becoming muffled out.

Salem smiled, pulling her hands away as she let go of the girl. She reached up, snatching the Geist's mask from the air. With a soft chuckle, she tossed it to the side. In her mind, that mask would never be seen again.

Val's body slowly went limp, collapsing onto the ground. Glaring down at the now messy pink hair, Salem narrowed her eyes while her arms hung down at her sides. "Arise." Was all she said, eyes narrowing more.

Giving off a soft groan, her body slowly shifted around. She crawled up to her hands and knees, stumbling a bit before she stood. She shook her head slightly before tossing her hair back. When her eyes opened, they were a bright gold. "This... feels much different."

"It should." Salem took a step back even though it looked like she was just gliding across the ground. "A human should feel much different than rocks and trees."

Nodding back, she held up a hand. She moved her fingers around a bit before slowly lowering it. She smiled, looking up at Salem with a devilish look in her eyes. "My name is Valentine, and I am at your beckoning command."

With a wicked my smile, Salem turned around. "Come. Let's return home before we are spotted by another pair of wandering eyes."

Weeks past and Valentine did every small thing she was told without question and without any sort of regret. The nature of killing was in her blood. The joy of suffering was painted on her skin. It just didn't take long for Salem to realize something was rather odd with her follower. It only took one mess up for her to catch what it was.

One day, as Valentine woke from her sleep, her eyes shot open a pale blue. She jerked and twisted around a bit before she sat up with very heavy breathing. Slowly falling into a panic, it was all silenced as Salem entered.

"I knew there was something wrong with this possession." Anger filled her voice as she come up close to the pink haired girl who quickly coward away in a whimper. "Trees and rocks have no will, no desire to be in control." Her eyes narrowed, towering above her. "But you, Val, have a rather impressive resolve. It's a shame I'm going to have to destroy it."

Val simply whimpered as quiet as she could, her entire body shaking in fear as tears swelled up in her light blue eyes. "Pl-Please... I-I have to get back home... t-to my parents..."

Salem shook her head, grinning as she held out her arm. "You have no family now. Only my orders and my orders only." She gave a wicked smiled, the demonic look in her eyes gleaming as evil as ever. "And you will not disobey me. Ever."

Twenty years later though, that resolve and willpower still refused to die in Val. With every passing second she fought the ghost like Grimm inside of her. And though it was clearly stronger than her, she always seemed to break free every now and then. Just never when it truly mattered. And to add to all the madness, only she and Salem knew who Valentine really was.

Giving a long sigh, Valentine leaned back in a seat and rubbed her face with both hands. "So you're telling me... there is a girl with... what now...?" She looked up, staring at Eri.

The short blonde shook her head, holding out her arms some. "This girl with green hair, she is able to do something I don't understand. It's like she was able to form any weapon she wanted out of thin air and use people's semblances." She shook her head. "It's like she's some sort of mirror mimicking everything around her. It's with her eyes. They change colors too."

"Her name is Kagami." A third voice filled the stale air.

Eri snapped her head around, eyes narrowing at the speaker. "You." She locked a glare with Maya who simply kept her hands at her sides, a long lost look in her eyes.

"Stop." Valentine commanded, narrowing her eyes at the short blonde. "She's my daughter."

Blinking once, Eri went to speak only to have Maya speak over her.

"And before you ask why I fought you, shut and think." Her voice came off a little harsher than she wanted it to. "I can't just blow my cover over a short little brat."

The blonde growled back before being silenced as Valentine held up her hand. "Shush." She looked over at Maya. "What do you know of this... Kagami?" Her eyebrows raised.

"Enough to tick you off." The light brown haired girl mumbled, slowly walking over to the pink haired demon. "She's apart of a clan known as the Monomanes."

Hours before, Elise gave a soft sigh as she sat on the floor of her dorm room, cleaning out her air compressed rifle. She ran her thumb across a heart made with deer antlers that she painted on years ago. She laid her head back, sighing again. Her body was aching like she had be thrown in a blender. Yesterday, was just plane awful. And yet there was still so much more to discuss.

Laying on the lower bed, Kris gave off a very heavy breath. Even though her music was blaring from her green and red headphones, she was far from distracted. Her arm was screaming each time she flexed her muscles. She slowly moved her head, looking over at Cheyenne.

Said Faunus was staring at a table filled with little beads. She wanted to make a necklace but nothing could even come to her mind. Her creativity was completely zapped out of her. In an instant though, she jumped, as did the other two girls from a knock on the door.

"Hello?" Prac muttered in a soft tone.

Fid knocked of the door again. "It is us three."

"And Maya." Mumbled Fif.

"You guys know I can say I'm here, right?" Maya glanced up at the three brothers.

Blinking slowly, Elise glanced at Kris and Cheyenne before shrugging. "Alright, come in. Just be quiet, Kagami still asleep."

In an instant, the three Varken brothers were sitting on the floor in the middle of the room. Maya gave a faint sigh, shutting the door behind her before she pulled out a seat from a desk and sat down. "How are you guys?"

"Sore." Elise mumbled, setting her rifle to the side.

"In pain." Kris let out with a deep breath as she slid her headphones down.

"Distracted." Cheyenne mutter, brushing the beads to the side as she leaned her head down onto the table.

Maya blinked, glancing up at the top bed before down at Elise with raised eyebrows. "And Kagami?"

Elise paused at that, glancing down. "She's... um..." She took a deep breath, lowering her head. She reached up, rubbing the back of her head.

"SHE is awake from all the talking." Kagami's voice shot down from the top of the bed. Every head in the room snapped up, looking over in her direction. The green haired leader gave a sigh, slowly rolling over in her bed to look down at the group of people in the dorm. "And why is there so many people in here...?"

"Miss Kagami," Prac shot to his feet.

Fid did the same, putting a fist on his chest. "We apologies for the intru-" He was cut off, a pillow hitting him in the face.

Fif raised and eyebrow, about to speak himself before another pillow struckchis face.

Up above, Kagami rubbed her face a little as she sat up, her legs hanging off the bed. "Please don't start that." She mumbled, going to rub her eyes. The room went silent for a while after that. All until Elise blurted out a few words that made Kagami raise her eyebrows up.

"So when were you going to tell us that your last name is Monomane?" The brunet mumbled, looking up at her leader.

Letting her jade hair fall around her face as she lowered it, she shook her head head softly. "Probably... never, I hoped." Her head then shot up, her eyes gaining a faint look of confusion. "How... exactly do you know about them?"

"Know about who?" Cheyenne raised an eyebrow, sitting up straight.

Elise glanced over at her, sighing slightly. "The Monomane Clan. Mama use to tell me stories all about them when I was a little girl. It was my favorite story to hear. I loved it. I just..." She trailed off, looking up at Kagami. "I never thought it was real."

Kagami raised an eyebrow back, shaking her head slightly. "How do you even... know..." She trailed off herself, lowering her head down. Her mind slowly crept upon memories she stuffed aside. To that night she was forced out of her home. To just three sentences her mother had told her.

 _'I use to be someone called a Huntress.'_

Her head shot up to her teammate. She blinked rapidly, a look of shock spreading across her face.

 _'I had the best three friends in the world.'_

"There is no way..." She trailed off. She gripped the edge of the bed, taking a deep breath as she jumped down. She gave off a faint grunt as she landed on her feet.

 _'We did everything together and I told them the legend of us, of our ancestors.'_

She stood up, staring at her friend for a moment before quietly speaking. If the room had been any bigger, the whole group wouldn't have been able to hear her. "Your mother, Elise, what did she do before she had you?"

The young farm girl went silent for a moment. After a bit, she gave a shrug. "I dunno."

Kagami quickly facepalmed, sighig deeply. "Nevermind..." She shook her head softly.

"Wait," Kris sat up in her bed, taking her headphones fully off. "What's this Monomane stuff?"

Giving a faint sigh, her leader turned to face her. Before she could speak though, Elise did.

"It means she has a special gift." The brunet said, slowly standing up. "According to legend, she has what people refer to as Mirror-Eyes."

"Huh?" The red head tilted her head.

Kagami sighed, sticking her hands inside her hoodie pocket. "It means there's magic in my blood."

"That's..." Cheyenne blinked rapidly. "O-Okay..." She nodded very slowly.

"Magic?" Prac raised his eyevrows.

Fid did the same, shaking his head a little. "I don't understand."

"Magic is a myth." Fif added on.

"It is." Kris rolled her eyes a bit, laying back down with a sigh. "Magic doesn't exist. It's something for little girls to believe in hope in."

"Would you like to explain how Kagami's hoodie was completely dry after all that then?" Elise raised an eyebrow.

The red head waved her off. "Probably just water resistant or something."

"It's... infused with magic." Kagami mumbled quietly.

Rolling her eyes again, Kris snapped her head in her leaders direction. "You want me to believe in magic? Huh!" She sat up, green eyes narrowing. "You think I'm going to believe in a lie? Where has it been all my life? Huh! Where has this great and magical happiness been?!"

There was a moment of silence before Elise shot a glare of at Kris. "Well how else would you explain it? Why don't you stop being such an ignorant brat and listen for once!"

"Because it's such a stupid idea!" The red head crossed her arms. "If she has magic, if she has had magic this entire time, then why hasn't she been using it to help us instead of just flinging that sword around?! Huh?! Answer that one you genius!"

"Because it hurts... and it's exhausting..." Kagami munbled quietly. Her teammates along with Maya and the Varken brothers all raised eyebrows in her direction. She sighed, kicking at the floor a bit. "When using what my mother gave me, I have to be completely focused and calm. Just one blow is enough to smack me out of it all and afterwards I can barely breathe. My heart is at a constant race and beating way faster than it should and there is a pain splitting stabbing feeling in the back of my eyes." She looked up slowly. "Yes, I have magic and it can be helpful. I have the gift of people able to look into a person's eyes and use whatever power they have against them. But it is not just fun and games." She lowered her head back down. "Haven't you heard of the saying of equivalent exchange? I have to give as much as I want to use. And it takes a lot to copy someone else..."

Silence filled the room for a moment before Maya gulped and quietly spoke up. "What abput those rings?"

Kagami glanced up at her, sighing a bit. She pulled her hands down, staring at the black rings on her fingers. "They're powered by black Dust. It's... rather difficult to find but the outcome is far greater than when using regular Dust. It's only for emergencies. I don't know when or how much power is left in them, so I have to use it sparingly."

She simply nodded back softly as Kris gave off a small noise, rolling over in her bed to look away. "I'm going back to bed."

Elise softly sighed, reaching over to grab Kagami's hand. She gave a soft smile, squeezing tight. "Don't worry about her." She mumbled, smiling a bit more. "I believe you."

"And I'll believe you until someone else can prove me wrong." Cheyenne muttered, slowly leaning back in her seat.

"And I'm with my sister." Maya pointed over at her twin with a nod.

"And my brothers and I all agree," Prac pointed at himself.

Fid nodded, pointed to himself as well. "We believe you until you show us we cannot."

"Someone who speaks like you just have, clearly isn't a liar." Fif munbled, pressing his thumb towards himself.

Kagami blinked a few times, the worried look on her face slowly fading away as she gave off a soft smile with a nod. "That's... good to know. Really good to know."


	26. The Day Of Praise

Early in the morning, Kagami slowly rolled over in her bed. She softly groaned, her eyes slowly opened. The dorm room was still dark and outside the window was just barely lighting up with the sunrise. As her vision came to, she blinked a bit at what she saw.

In the middle of the room was Elise. She was sitting on the floor, tying a pair of knee high camouflage boots on. Tucked underneath them was a pair of woodland paints. She smiled, quickly jumping up onto her feet. She stretched out her arms a bit before grabbing a different camouflage jacket. It was a lot like the one her father had given her, but this one had lines of neon orange across it.

Kagami simply kept quiet, watching as Elise threw a quiver filled with arrows over her shoulder followed by a large compound bow. In the blink of an eye, she bolted out the door before the sun even had a chance to fully rise. Something definitely had her excited.

"Hey..." Kagami quietly mumbled, looking at the door. "Did any of you guys see that too?"

"Yep." Cheyenne spoke softly, blinking rapidly in her bed. "Never seen her awake this early before. What do you think she's doing?"

"Who knows." She leaned over her bed, letting her green hair fall down around her face. "She seemed happy about something."

Before the Faunus could respond, Kris spoke in a very low grumble. "I don't care... at all... so all of you... SHUT UP SO I CAN SLEEP! IT IS THE WEEKEND!"

Both the light haired brunet and jade haired girl went silent. Kagami gave a sigh, rolling back over as she curled back up under her blanket.

Hours later, Cheyenne was brushing her hair while staring back into a mirror. "Hey," She mumbled, looking back at Kagami who was polishing her sword. "Elise has been gone for at least five hours. Should we like... worry?"

The jade haired girl looked up, blinking a few times. She then gave a sodt shrug, glancing down at her sword. She stared at her reflection in the glimmering metal before flashing a smile. "I think she's fine. Definitely fine." She looked up as she sheathed her blade. She stood, leaning it against the wall. "She's not one to turn down something insane or fall all that easily."

"Right." She nodded back, softly sighing. She layed down her brush, looking over at Kris who was still sound asleep. "Should wake her?"

Without even the slightest hesitation and a rather quick response, Kagami snapped back. "No!" Her eyes widened a bit before quickly shaking her head. "You're usually gone when I force Elise to wake her. It is not good at all."

The Faunus blinked back, slowly nodding. "Okay." She nodded a bit more.

Just then, the door swung open. "Heeeeey guys!" Elise voice chirped through the air as she skipped into the room.

Both Kagami and Cheyenne went silent, both blinking as they stared back at her. Both their heads tilted to the side as Cheyenne slowly lifted a finger. "Uh... what..."

Elise glanced at them, smiling from ear to ear. At the moment, dirt was brushed all across her face. She softly chuckled, looking over her shoulder. "This?" She smiled a bit more. Over her shoulder, she held a rope. Attached to said rope was a lifeless turkey hanging upside down with its legs tied. She looked back at her teammates. "Have you never seen dinner before it's made yet?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Again..." Kagami held up a hand with eyebrows raised. "What?"

Elise gave a very long and deep sigh as she walked over to her part of the room. She placed the turkey down before taking off her bow and quiver. "You guys are lame." She took her jacket off, showing a bright neon orange shirt underneath. She then glanced back. "Haven't you guys heard of fhe Day of Praise?"

"Huh?" Kagami tilted her head to the side.

The farm girl sighed again, softly shaking her head. "Stupid city people."

"I know what it is." Cheyenne softly raised her hand. "Well, I learned about it. My family and I just were never able to celebrate it."

"Sooo..." Their leader tilted her head the other way. "What... is it?"

"Whatever it is, it sound lame." Kris snapped from under her blanket. She slowly pulled it down from her face, glaring with gold green eyes. "This is the few times I actually get to sleep in during the week, and you make so much noise!"

Elise glanced over, quickly laying her jacket over the dead bird. She didn't do so to hide it from the red head. She did it because she knew Kris wouldn't like to see something like that.

"It's not that stupid." Cheyenne muttered as she looked over. "It's the day which Huntsmen and Huntresses from long ago came and inhabited the Kingdom of Vale. They were tired of living in Mistral's world so they came over here to establish their own land. They were called crazy and insane. Mainly because people back then thought the world was flat and that if they sailed far enough, they would fall off the edge of Remnant. Well," She rubbed the back of her head. "Either that or getting eaten by aqua Grimm."

"Really?" Kagami stuck her hands in her hoodie pocket, at least somewhat interested.

"Still sounds lame." Kris muttered.

Elise gave a soft sigh, crossing her arms. "It's not lame. Today is suppose to be spent with family and friends and give praise for those who risked their lives to let this Kingdom grow. Plus, there is always a big feast!"

Rolling her eyes, the red head rolled over and shut her eyes. "Yep. Lame. Anything family related is lame."

Elise blinked a few times, sighing a bit. She then looked back at her two other teammates. "What do you guys say?"

"Well I've always wanted to so something like this." Cheyenne gave a smile. "I'm in."

"You?" The brunet looked over at Kagami.

Blinking a few times, the jade haired girl shrugged. "Sure, why not. Sounds pretty cool."

"Great!" Elise grinned, jumping up and down a bit. "You keep Kris busy and I'll make all the food! Mama taught me how to cook really well!"

Kagami and Cheyenne looked at each other, blinking a few tines. The two of them both raised their eyebrows, eyes widening. "Occupy Kris?" They both said, staring at each other.

A while later, Cheyenne was leaning over Kris' shoulder as the red head played Rainbow Time Dancers on her scroll. "So... this is that show you and Elise like?"

Kagami blinked a bit, watching the six color themed girls put all their hands in a circle. "This is... some really weird stuff."

"But it's pretty good." The Faunus muttered.

"You got me there." She responded back with a slow nod. "It's rather interesting."

"Oh! Wait! Guys! Shush!" Kris waved her hands a bit before pointing at the screen. "Watch this! This is the part where Pi gets kidnapped by Doctor D. and her friends have to rescue her! Doctor D. does this thing that cancels out Pi's fast forwarding power too! So she can't fast forward time to get out of his clutches!"

Kagami gave a soft chuckle, sticking her hands in her pocket. Sometimes, she forgot how much younger Kris was. At only fifteen, she was still a child. All of them were still children.

"Shhhhh!" Cheyenne put her hand over Kris' mouth. "No spoilers! Darn it! Shut up, Christmas!"

Kris gave a soft grumble, licking the palm of Cheyenne's hand.

The Faunus quickly jerked her hand away, jumping off the bed as she shook it around. "Ew! Ew, ew, ew!"

As Kagami chuckled a bit more, Elise suddenly appeared in the middle of the room. "Dooone!" She smiled from ear to ear. "I could find a table so we're going to have to eat on the floor." She looked down at the ground.

There, was the turkey she had shot with an arrow earlier. Now it was a crisp golden brown with stuffing pouring out. Around it was bowls of mashed potatoes, corn, green beans, a large pumpkin pie and a special little dish.

Kagami sniffed the air a bit, her head trailing over. "That smells... really good."

Kris simply glanced over once, staring at the cooker bird before looking away.

Seeing this, Elise sighed softly and picked up the special dish. From what it looked like, it looked like it was some turkey meat along with stuffing. "Hey, Kris." She muttered, walking over with a soft smile. She held it out, grinning a bit. "I made this specially for you. Though it was against every instinct in my body..." She grumbled before shaking her head. "I made it. It's wheat, veggie broth, rosemary, thyme, season salt, onion powde, garlic powder and wild rice. I went to this vegan restaurant in the city and they told me how to make a meat free turkey."

Kris blinked a bit, looking over with raised eyebrows. "You... made a separate dish just for me?" Her eyebrows lifted up more. Her whole life, she was stuck with her mother giving her whatever it was she had her butlers cook and none of that was ever meat free. She glanced up at Elise before back down at the plate. Giving a long sigh, she closed her scroll. "Fine. I guess we'll do this stupid thing."

"Heeey!" Cheyenne quickly waved her arms around. "You turned off Rainbow Time Dancers! Doctor Dakrness was about to throw Pi halfway across the room!"

In and instant, Elise was holding four scrolls in her hand. "Also, no electronics today. Mama would never even let papa wear his watch when we ate on today,"

"How did you..." Kagami blinked, looking at her back pocket where her scroll once was.

"Now come on!" Elise reached out, grabbing Kris by the wrist. She immediately started pulling her along. "Let's eat before it gets cold!"

Kagami softly chuckled, watching as Elise pulled out a knife and cut the turkey apart. "Come on," She muttered to Cheyenne. "Let's go."

With a groan, Cheyenne stood up. "Yeah, yeah." She blinked a bit before tilting her head. "Where do you think she cooked all this?"

Kagami paused, blinked a bit before she shrugged. "Who knows." She looked over at Elise and Kris who were actually sitting side by side and not about to stab each other. "I say we don't question it and we let this last for as long as we can." She smiled, walking over and sitting down on the floor.

Cheyenne blinked a bit before shrugging. "Alright." She smiled herself, walking over.

Sneeking off and tracking down villains and criminals would have to wait. For now, team MACE had their hands full of juicy meat or some fake meat and was at ease. This team, these children just had no idea of the war and battles that were coming after them in no time.


	27. I'm Not Dancing

On a day which all of team MACE had believed would be a calm and peaceful day full of relaxation, the four girls found themselves facing their hardest battle. This one was for all the marbles. It was a war of guts and glory, passion and love and pride and joy. Today, after nearly completing three-fourths of their first year at Beacon, the day of reckoning has arrived.

Today was the academy's dance.

"No." Kagami said plainly with her arms crossed. She took a deep breath, shaking her head. "No. Just no."

"Awww, come on!" Kris threw her arms up, her gree eyes wide. "Today is like my day! I could make you look amazing!"

"No." Her leader repeated, narrowing her eyes.

Groaning, the red head grumbled and crosses her own arms. At the moment, her short hair was rolled up in curlers. She was wearing a bright red robe with snowflakes dancing across the soft fabric. "One night. You have to." Her eyes narrowed more.

"Like I said, no." She let her arms fall before sticking them in her pocket.

Finally, the young girl gave off a scream. "Well why not?!"

Kagami rolled her eyes, leaning up against the bookshelf in front of the window in their dorm room. "Because..." She let out a huff of air. "It's stupid."

"It's not stupiiid!" Kris groaned more, rubbing her face.

"Come on, Kagami." Cheyenne looked away from her reflection in the mirror and looked back at her leader. "It won't be that bad. Besides, it's every girls dream to go a dance and get dressed up like a princess." She smiled, looking back at the reflection before running a comb through her hair for the hundredth time. "I know I've always dreamed of it." Her eyes locked with her moon shaped neckalce before she sighed softly.

"Well not me." Kagami munbled, her head sinking down into her shoulders. "It just sounds so stupid. Dressing up and gathering in a room with a bunch of people. I would very much rather just stay here all night."

"You're such a anti-social loseeeeer!" Kris let out, throwing her arms up as she turned around. "The one night out of the whole year that I actually get the chance to put makeup on your pale skin and you refuse!"

Feeling the heat start to rise to her face, she shut her eyes and mumbled as quiet as a mouse. "I'm not dancing..."

"Then just get dressed up and go and chill by the punch bowl!" The red head's arms shot out.

Letting some of her jade hair fall around her face, she softly shook her head. "I don't want to get dressed up... and I don't want any of that sugar filled drink..."

"Come on, guys." Elise lifted her head up from her nails. She was currently painting them a dark woodland green. She looked back at her teammates. "Let her be. If she doesn't want to go, don't force her. We still have three years after this anyway. I mean, she would have fun if she went, but she doesn't want to."

"The we should make her!" Kris rapidly waved her arms around.

Sighing, Cheyenne set down her comb and looked back at the short girl. "Elise is right. If Kagami doesn't want to go, we shouldn't make her."

To that, the red head gave off a scream, pointing in Kagami's direction. "Well that's stupid! What's the point of friends if they don't make you do things! I want to dress her up! I bet she would look pretty!"

"You know," Elise sighed, looking back down at her nails. "Not everyone needs makeup too look pretty."

Cheyenne held her breath, waiting for a comment on how Kris had to wear makeup to look pretty, but sighed and smiled in relief when there wasn't any.

"I just don't want to go, alright?!" Kagami shot her head up, snapping at her team. Her jaw tensed as she glanced outside. "It sounds stupid."

As her voice shot through the air, it made the rest of the girls jump a bit. Cheyenne simply sighed, looking back in the mirror as she patted her hair down. Elise shook her head softly, going back to her nails. Kris though, had a different direction.

"That's not a valid reason!" The red head snapped back. She took a few steps, placing a finger on Kagami's chest. "It doesn't matter who you are or how you were raised, every girl wants to feel pretty! Dressing up and going to the dance is the best way!"

She would have went on more if it hadn't have been for a hand with a black fingerless cglove on it pushing her to the side. "Enough." Kagami grumbled. She was trying to hide the deep shade of red forming across her face. "I'm not going."

"But-!" Kris started hen stopped as the door to their dorm slammed shut. She groaned deeply, hands reaching up and rubbing her face. "WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" She shouted at the top of her lungs. She grumbled deeply, turning on her heels and storming off to the bathroom. "This is ridiculous. Stupid... everything!"

Blinking softly, both Elise and Cheyenne looked at each other. There was a long moment of silence before they both sighed and nodded. It was clear without speaking on what was needed to happen. While Elise went off to find Kagami, Cheyenne would stay here to keep Kris calm. No words were exchanged but still, both girls knew exactly this.

Up above on the rooftop of the student dorms, Kagami was leaning against a wall. She watched as the sun slowly started to set, revealing small speckled stars popping up all across the sky. She sighed, glancing down at her book. She stared at it, its opened pages filled with writing. She took a deep breath, letting her shoulder sink down. It was theb she flinched, hearing a voice call out her name followed by the door opening.

"You know," Elise munbled, walking as she braided her hair. "I was almost positive you would be up here. It was either here or the cafeteria and since that place is clooosed..." She glanced down, smiling as her fingers danced strands of her hair around.

"What?" She looked up at her, tilting her head a bit. "I already said I wasn't going to go."

"Oh, I know." She sat down beside her. "I know you don't want to go. And I'm not here to change your mind. I just want to know why with an actual explanation."

Giving a long and heavy sigh, she let her jad hair fall around her face as she looked away. "I just don't want to."

With a smile, the brunet nudged her back. "Mama always said people say they don't want to do something when it's a personal reason." She smiled a bit more, seeing Kagami's face go a bit red.

"Shut up." She mumbled, her hands tightening around the edges of her book.

Seeing that would get her no where, Elise sighed and leaned over Kagami's shoulder once she finished braiding her brown hair. "Sooooo... can I read another?"

Kagami jerked a bit at that. She then blinked, looking over at Elise. "You... want go read more?"

"Well since you have it and it's opened." She smiled and shrugged. "Why not?"

She sighed softly, leaning back against the wall before she started to flip through the pages. "Alright, alright." She rolled her eyes. "Here. I'm sure you'll like this one." She stopped at a page, holding it out to Elise.

In an instant, the young farm girl snatched it away. Her eyes immediately started to scan over it. As she did, she couldn't help but smile from ear to ear.

 _There is something about an adventure, that I simply cannot refuse_

 _The thrill, the excitement, the passion, it's all my refuge_

 _With green trees so tall_

 _The harshest winters and all_

 _I am awaiting nature's call_

 _This raging heart, this raging heart_

 _Where do I even start?_

 _Snow peak high or rock bottom low_

 _Where should I even go?_

 _Step by step with rifle in hand_

 _I will travel all across this land_

 _Sailing far and wide across the sea_

 _Oh dear Oum, how great it'll be_

 _This raging heart, this raging heart_

 _It is ready to leave its mark_

 _All across Remnant_

 _In remembrance_

 _So think again_

 _When you say my story ends_

"You... wrote a poem about me?" She couldn't help but chuckle softly as she looked over at her leader.

Kagami simply shrugged back. "Yeah. I mean... you're an interesting person. I have this thing where I can tell a lot about people just by watching them. It's kinda nice. Guess it comes from being born with magic." She rolled her eyes.

"Or you're just really observant." Elise smiled. "You seem to take in situations a lot faster than any of us. Maybe that's why Oz made you our leader."

She shrugged back, glancing up at the sky filled with more stars. "It's just a thing I do. I mean... I'm working on writing one for Kris. It's rather difficult. But I do have one for Cheyenne-"

"Can I read it?!" The brunet's face lit up with a smile as she interrupted her.

She sighed, reaching over and grabbing her book before she started to flip through the pages. "Sure, why not."

Watching the pages slow down, Elisee bounced a little as the book was handed back to her. "You're like a pure genius!" She muttered in a shout before her eyes locked on the black words on the page.

 _Born and raised in poverty_

 _Because of my hereditary_

 _Pushed aside, locked in a cage_

 _While the rest of my kind rose in rage_

 _And I refused to take the stage_

 _I am no fighter_

 _I just want to make the world better_

 _No making others feel less than what their worth_

 _Just a chance for greatness and rebirth_

 _People in our world today_

 _Deserve much more than what they are paid_

 _I couldn't give that to my family back home_

 _But that will not turn my heart to stone_

 _I am going to give_

 _And help all the damaged souls live_

 _Brings heads above water_

 _Let them breath a little softer_

 _I, am going to break free_

 _And show others they deserve to be happy_

"You know," Elise mumbled, glancing up. "You're really good at this. I mean, it's realy amazing."

Kagami just shrugged, taking her book back. "It's just a way to calm my nerves. That's all."

"It's written beauty." The brunet mumbled back. "Where did you even learn to do that?"

She simply shrugged back again. "I just do it."

"Kinda like your magic?" She raised an eyebrow.

At that, Kagami sighed. "I suppose."

Elise internally winced. She was getting so close to calming her down and basically blew it. She was about to facepalm herself before it hit her. "Hold on," She raised an hand. "Since your eyes are like magic, doesn't that mean you have some type of other semblance?"

Blinking rapidly, she brushed her jade hair behind one ear and looked over at her. By the look on her face, it was clear she never thought of that. "I... suppose so?" It came off much more like a question than a statement.

"We should totally figure it out." The brunet softly punched Kagami's arm. "Think of how bad ass you would be if you could do more than swing your sword around in a battle."

Kagami smiled a bit at that, leaning back as she looked up at the sky which was completely covered in stars. "I guess we could discover it one day."

"Great." Elise leaned her head back, looking up at the broken moon. She gulped a bit, glancing over at Kagami before she looked back up. "Say," She took a deep breath. Hopefully she had calmed down enough. "Why don't you want to go to the dance?"

She let out a sigh, closing her book as she brought her knees up to her chest. "It's just... not my thing... Back on Vytal, there wasn't much for beauty. Really, it was never even thought of. Usually, unless the woman was getting married or showing off like my mom did all the time even though she said she wasn't, women never really did anything that made them stand out. Plus... putting a bunch of chemicals on your face sounds like an awful plan." She looked over at Elise, raising an eyebrow.

Those words had gone in one ear and out the other. Elise had only heard one simply sentence. "You lived... on Vytal...?" Her eyebrows slowly raised up. "I knew you said you grew up with Atlas oppression but... Vytal? Mama use to tell me stories of how peaceful that place was before Atlas wanted the valuable Dust underneath it. And how... cruel some of them could be."

Kagami blinked a few times before shaking her head. "You... weren't listening. Alright."

At that, the brunet snapped out of her faze. "Y-Yeah I was! Swear I was!" She shook her head a bit. "I totally was!"

"Oh yeah?" She raised an eyebrow, smiling as she brushed her jade hair back. "What did I say?"

There was a moment of silence before Elise quietly spoke up. "About... why... you don't wanna dance...?" She smiled innocently.

Kagami couldn't help but softly laugh as she looked back up at the sky. "Alright, close enough. Technically, you're not wrong."

"Sooooo, you'll go?" She smiled, nudging her a bit. She smiled a bit more before her world shattered and fell apart like glass at Kagami's response.

"No." The jade haired girl said, shutting her eyes. She then gave a soft sigh. "It's not your fault. I was just never raised to do anything like that. It all just seems worthless."

Elise sighed, sliding down the wall so she would be laying on the floor. "But don't you want to? Just deep down? Even with how you were raised and brought up, don't you want to have that feeling of being pretty?"

There was a silence, Kagami's face gaining a blush as she crossed her arms and looked away.

Smiling, the brunet sat up some. "You do? Don't you. But you feel like it's against your nature." In the distance, the clock tower started to ring nine o'clock at night. "Come on." She smiled, standing up. She held out her hand, smiling softly down at her leader. "I won't do anything you don't approve and I won't go crazy like Kris would. Just give it a chance. The dorm should be empty anyway since the dance is started. I'm sure I could, you know," She grinned from ear to ear. "I could _spruce_ you up a bit in half an hour."

Kagami blinked once before bringing her foot up and kicking Elise to the side. "That was an awful joke!" She shouted, trying to hide her smile as she stood up.

Elise chuckled softly, rubbing the back of her head with shut eyes. "Totally worth it."

Inside the ball room, Cheyenne took a deep breath, biting her lip as she struggled to stand i her high heels. She then glanced over at Kris, raising an eyebrow. "Are you... sure this is a good dress for me?" She looked down at her long and silky light brown dress that went down to her ankles. Aside from a small flower made out of frabric and sewed in between the bottom of the v of her neck, there wasn't anything really fancy out eye popping about the outfit.

"It's perfect." Kris smiled. "I was debating for a while, but I cam to the conclusion that if your dress was too out there, it would take away from your eyes and Faunus heritage. I wasn't going to do that. It fits you perfectly."

"Alright." She nodded back slowly before looking over at her teammate. She then gave a nod to her. "You looked amazing too."

"I know I do." The red head gave off a smile. In her bright ruby red high heels, she was at least six inches taller and it made her feel great. Her dress was more of a long skirt that was as bright as her shoes and showed off her shoulders and the clevage she thought she had. Really, there wasn't much there. And to top it all off, her hair, rather than messy, was gently curling around her face which was just a little over done with makeup. Not that she cared.

"Wonder if Elise got Kagami to come." Cheyenne muttered, looking around before she started to wobble over to the punch bowl. "I hope she could."

"She better have." Kris grumbled, easily walking over next to her.

No sooner than the two did, the doors to the room opened.

"Come on," Elise mumbled with a grin as she pushed Kagami inside. "It'll be fine."

Taking a deep breath, the jade haired girl composed herself. She shifted around a bit, glancing down at herself. She was wearing a black skirt with green trimming around the bottom and a black sleeveless top with a collar. Around her neck and under that collar was a green tie. Where her skirt didn't cover her legs were black stockings and a pair of green gloves on her hands. But even though she allowed Elise to pull her hair back and make it look a little less messy, she still had her green and black tennis shoes on.

"I'm going, I'm going." She muttered, smiling over so slightly. She then shot her head back, eyes narrowing. "It's not like I see you in a dress."

"You're funny." Elise grinned, patting down her camouflage tuxedo with shotgun cufflinks and looked up. "You think I am going to wear a dress? I would rather sleep in Jelly Bean's stalls naked for a week."

Rolling her eyes, Kagami reached up with her left hand and grabbed her right arm. "You're insane." She mumbled. She then blinked, seeing a fiery young red head come bolting in their direction. "You're also a dead man." She muttered, looking back.

"Well." Elise blinked, seeing Kris' furious glare. "Not like I'm going to change." She pulled on the collar of her tux. "I look bad ass and she's not going to change that."

On the other side of the room, Cheyenne sighed softly and took a sip from her cup of punch. "Kris is going to kill her." She muttered before smiling, taking another sip. A thing like that may be annoying to other people, but for this team, it was a normal thing they all secretly couldn't live without.

As their innocence and joy filled the not, Nihilus gave a soft sigh while sitting across from his sister at a table. "You know, Thanaton, you can't have sex with every man you want to."

"Well why not?" She pouted, crossing her arns. "Some old men have really sexy-"

Suddenly, Nihilus was standing behind her with a mouth over her hand. "No. Don not. I said I don't care, but I don't need to know about it."

Chuckling, Thanaton reached up and pulled his hand down. "Come on Nilly. You promised me that you wouldn't use your semblance against me. Plus, it's not like the guy lives afterwards."

He sighed, shaking his head as he walked back over to his seat and sat down. "Just... don't give me the details."

Before she could say something else, the sound of heels entered the room. "Aquilus, Thanaton." Valentine's golden eyes pierced through the dakrness before her body became visible. "My daughter has informed me of some very promising information. You know of the little brats who keep interfering with us?"

"And who got Dion arrested." Thanaton pouted. "Now there is no one here to sleep with unless we want incest!"

"For the love of..." Nihilus reached up, rubbing his eyes with his hands. There were several dark bags under his eyes as he looked up. "Ignore her."

The pink haired woman shook her head, looking over at him. "I have a job for you. You alone."

He blinked a bit, raising an eyebrow. He didn't seem excited or confused at what she said. He looked indifferent. "And that is?"

"I want that girl with magic brought to me." Her eyes narrowed like daggers. "Her power hides within her eyes. If you are able to blindfold her, you should be fine. I want her brought back to me. Alive. Is that understood?"

"Clear as day." He mumbled, looking down at his katana.

"Awww," Thanaton chuckled a bit, leaning back in her seat. "Does the Princess of Darkness want a green toy to play with?" She started to grin like the devil. "I'd love to make her scream."

Valentine just nodded, looking back at Nihilus. "I am going to show these children what happens when you play with things you don't understand."

"Consider it down, Valentine." Nihilus gave a nod.

She nodded back, turning on her heels as she walked away. "I should really thank my daughter for this information."

As the clock struck eleven, Maya smiled while sitting next to her twin. The two were both watching the Varken brothers each dance with either Kagami, Kris or Elise.

"You know," Cheyenne smiled. "It's actually rather impressive those boys found tuxes that could fit them."

"Yep." Maya nodded back, watching her teammates dressed in black tuxedos dance around. She then glanced down at her long, pale white dress before looking up. "They were looking for them months ago. Apparently it's really hard to find a five extra large." Shs gave off a soft laugh.

Her sister did the same, leaning back in her chair as she looked up at the roof. "It's nice to have things like this, you know?" She looked over at her sister. "It reminds us we're still just children."

"Yeah, children." Maya looked down, staring at her feet. She knew very well how much the children she knew were about to get into. They didn't deserve to be in a war, but she didn't question it. "But since we are children anyway." She smiled and stood up, pulling Cheyenne with her to the dance floor. "We might as well live like it!"

"Whoa! WHOA!" Cheyenne stumbled, her heels making it impossible to walk, let alone dance. "I'm not dancing! Not in these things!"

"Too bad sis!" Maya smiled from ear to ear, pulling Cheyenne along to the music.


	28. Running Out Of Time

Late into the night, after the school dance had come to an end, Kagami, Cheyenne, Kris, and Elise were all in their dorm. Elise was laying ontop of several large and fluffy hunting coats with the jacket to her camouflage suite off and laying next to her. Kris was laying on the ground, softly groaning as she rolled her face around on the floor. Next to her, Cheyenne was leaning up against the book case, her eyes shut and shoulders down. On the bottom bunk of their tower of beds, Kagami had her face burried inside a pillow which was covered in Kris' perfume scent. All four of them were as tired as they possibly could be.

"Can I shoot myself in the face with a knife now?" Kris mumbled, rolling her head to the side so she could look over in Elise's direction.

"Go ahead." The brunet shrugged, glancing over before shutting her eyes.

"Shhh..." Cheyenne let out, only her jaw moving as she spoke. "It's your fault we were out so late. You two just had to go and play games up until five in the freaking morning..."

"And if we sleep now..." Kagami slowly rolled over, flinching as she nearly fell off the bed doing such. "There is no way on Remnant we will wake up at six for tomorrow... or... today..."

Chuckling softly, Elise looked up at her leader. "And tomorrow going to be as cool as hell."

"We get to go on a mission with a real Huntsman." Cheyenne muttered, slowly moving her head up and opening her eyes.

"Or Huntress." Kris quickly stated, pointing up with one hand as she shoved her face back into the ground.

Silence filled the room for several minutes, most of which each girl thought the others had fallen asleep though none of them did. Finally, just as a bird started to chirp at the rising sun, Kris rolled onto her back with a heavy groan, staring up at the ceiling. "I need coffee... you guys?"

"Same here." Cheyenne yawned, slowly opening her eyes before shutting them again with another yawn.

"Coffee is filled with too much caffeine..." Elise muttered, opening her left eye to look. "Tea is way better for you."

"So who's gonna go get it...?" The deer Faunus mumbled, slowly laying down onto her side and curling up. She then slowly opened her eyes.

Kris, Elise and Cheyenne all looked at each other, blinking once before they shouted in unison. "Not it!" They cried.

Kagami blinked a bit, slowly opening her eyes to stare at her teammates. "I hope you guys all go to hell." She let out in a deadly tired tone.

Kris gave a small chuckle, rolling onto her side as she shut her eyes. "Bet I'm already headed there..."

"Hey," Elise smiled, holding up a hand in the red head's direction. "You think we could argue so much in hell we'd make all the other souls run away?"

"You two could make the head of the underworld run." Cheyenne muttered whild cracking a small smile.

"Oh well!" Kris let out, rolling over again to face Kagami. "Go get two coffees and a tea. Pleaaaaase?"

"Green with lemon and honey. And a bunch of sugar." Elise pulled a jacket over her head.

"Some creamer and three teaspoons of sugar for me." Cheyenne curled up more.

"Keep mine straight." Kris yawned, shutting her eyes. "Dark and bitter like my soul."

Kagami couldn't help but smile faintly as she rolled off the bed onto her feet. "I hate all of you." She mumbled before standing up. She stumbled a bit before she got her balance and headed out the door.

While walking down the halls, Kagami loosened the tie around her neck and unbuttoned the top button of her shirt. She gave a yawn, stretching out her arms. She blinked a few times, looking at the gloves on her hands before taking them off and sticking them into her pockets.

"I still prefer shorts over this weird skirt." She mumbled to herself, glancing down at what she was wearing. She then half smiled, looking up as she got the to elevator. "You don't look half bad though." She then sighed, pressing the button to go down. "You're so tired you're talking to yourself." She let her shoulders drop. "Gosh... you're an idiot."

She jumped as the elevator dinged and the doors slid open. She took a deep breath, sighing deeply as she stepped inside. Once she did so, she reached up and rubbed her tired eyes. "Idiot." She mumbled before she pressed the button for the bottom floor. She leaned back against a wall, rubbing her face as the door started to shut.

That's when it happened.

Out of nowhere, she felt a presence of someone in the halls. She tilted her head back, raising an eyebrow. Between the crack of the two elevator doors, she caught a glimpse of a white hoodie with red on the inside. Less than a second later, just as the doors shut, she felf someone right next to her.

Her eyes were wide as she stared at the floor. She gulped faintly, tensing up. No one was that fast. Not even with a semblance of speed. There was no travel of aura from one place to another. It was strictly from point A to point B with no in between.

Her jaw tightened as she looked up, seeing a dark haired young man from the streets before.

"You know," Nihilus stretched out his arms, looking at Kagami with an emotionless glare. "Breaking in and stealth have always been my thing, but having someone else give me information on the place I'm breaking into makes it all that much easier."

Kagami had questions for sure. His semblance was one. The mole in Beaco though, that was a bigger question. "So what do you want with me? In a confined space of all things?" She couldn't help but flash a smirk. She had definitely been spending way too much time with Kris.

His eyes simply narrowed at her, flashing gold. Once again, he went from one place to another without traveling between the space. More importantly though, his knee went from one place straight into Kagami's stomach the next.

Her body struck the side of the elevator with a heavy bang as she slid down onto the ground. She coughed several times, shaking her head as her sleepy eyes opened up. They went wide, seeing the bottom of a foot. She gritted her teeth, quickly rolling to the side to dodge the blow as she jumped up to her feet. Not waiting for her to regain balance, she brought her foot around in a round house kick.

Nihilus barely had time to move his head back to miss the strike. He took three steps back, holding up his arms.

The elevator dinged as it went past the fifth floor.

He then charged at Kagami, the jade haired girl bringing up her arms to block punch after punch. She started to take steps closer and closer to the wall. To this, Nihilus grinned. He brought his arm back, driving it towards her face as her back hit it. Kagami simply smiled back, dropping down as his fist struck metal. He gave a grunt, pulling back his arm to reveal an intention on the side of the elevator. He turned around, glaring back at Kagami.

There was another ding. Fourth floor.

Kagami was the one who ran forward first this time, taking the offensive side of the fight. She jumped up, bracing her feet against the wall before she pushed herself off and collided with Nihilus. Both grunted as Kagami gripped his shoulders. She winced herself, feeling his fingers digging into her biceps. Gritting her teeth, she threw her head forward. Her forehead colliding with Nihilus' nose just as another ding sounded.

Third floor.

As Nihilus stumbled away, he shook his head and glared up. "Enough of this!" He snapped as his eyes flashed gold once again. Without so much as a second passing, his fingers were wrapped around Kagami's neck, her back was against the wall and her toes were several inches from the ground. He was breathing heavy, clearly exhausted from something.

She ginded her teeth together, her feet kicking the wall as her hands gripped Nihilus' arm. This didn't make any sense. From one place to another without any time being spent. No one was that fast. No one. She groaned, shutting both her eyes as her face started to turn red.

There was a ding as they went down to the second floor.

Kagami groaned deeply, her hands slowly dropping down. That's when it hit her. The whole reason why she never felt his aura moving. With her mind starting to grow hazy, she started to claw at the flat surface against her back. This young man was way out her league. And she was out of time to do anything.

As the elevator dinged again, the world around her became distance. The light she saw even with her eyes closed faded. Her body slowly went limp as she faded into unconsciousness.

Hours later, in the late afternoon. Elise slowly shifted on her bed of hunting jackets. Shd blinked a bit, looking out the window to see the sun high up in the air. She blinked again before she suddenly shot to her feet with wide eyes. "Hell!"

In an instant, Cheyenne scrambled to her feet with eyes just as wide. She quickly looked around, her body tensing. "What is it?! Grimm attack?! Did Kris lose it?!"

"No!" Said red head sat up, rubbing her ears. "But she is about to with all this damn yelling!"

"Kagami didn't wake us up you idiots!" The young farm girl rapidly waved her arms between the two of them. She then blinked, seeing an empty bed. "She... didn't come back either."

"Maybe... she fell on the floor and passed out?" Cheyenne raised an eyebrow.

Kris went silent, blinking a little herself. There was a lot of things she knew Kagami would never do. Letting her team down was one of them. She sighed, shaking her head a bit. "Whatever."

The three of them then jumped, yelping at the knock on the door.

"Excuse me!" A voice which Kris hissed at spoke from the other side of the door. Glybda Goodwitch clearly had an angry voice. Without so much as azking to enter, she opened the door. Her eyes then locked on the three girls. "Where is your leader?"

Kris hissed more as Elise took a step back and rubbed her head. "Sh-She went to go get coffee and tea for us." She gulped.

Glynda's eyes simply narrowed. "The four of you missed your mission assigning."

"Yeah..." Cheyenne reached up, scratching at her antlers. "We... planned to go."

"But we fell asleep and Kagami didn't come back." Elise munbled.

With her eyes piercing each of them like daggers, the older woman crossed her arms and glared. "You've been assigned the mission no one else would take since you decided to not show."

Kris sighed, looking over at her aunt with eyes rolling. "What? Do we have to pick up trash?"

There was a moment of silence before Glynda spoke up. "No." She locked eyes with her niece before she looked over at the other two. "We believe there is a group of criminals hiding out in an abandoned factory. You are assigned to shadow a Huntress there."

"So who's the lady who gets to teach us?" Elise smiled from ear to ear. "Huh? Is she awesome? can she kick butt like no one ever before?"

Glynda gave off a small growl before she sighed, turning on her heels and walking out. "Be ready in half an hour. We're leaving then."

"Um... we...?" Cheyenne eyebrows raised up as her eyes widened.

"Yes." She shot a glare back. "We."

Groaning deeply as she got dressed and threw on her camouflage jacket her father gave her, Elise threw her arms up in the air. "Kagami just had to go off where ever she is now! She just had to! Now we're stuck with that witch!"

"Could be worse." Cheyenne looked over, putting her vest on. "We could have Doctor Oobleck or something."

"You guys sure Kagami is fine?" Kris spoke up again. She hadn't said much all afternoon. She then looked back at Elise. "I mean, her hoodie is still on her."

Both Cheyenne and Elise looked at hed, blinking a bit. Both had slightly puzzled looks before Elise shook it off and sorted through some darts. "She probably fell asleep downstairs in the cafeteria while getting us our drinks."

"Wouldn't you think someone would have woken her?" The Faunus raised an eyebrow.

Elise went silent before she softly shook her head. She then quickly looked up. At this point, she was looking for excuses. "Fell asleep on the stairs?"

"I guess." The red head mumbled, scratching the back of her head before she started to shove of few toys into her hoodie and zipped it up.

As the three walked down the hall, an eerie silence fell upon them. They all had a gut fedling in them saying something was off. Giving a sigh, Elise pressed the button to go down the elevator. "Maybe she's already waiting for us with Glynda?"

"You think she would want to be with my aunt alone?" Kris chuckled softly at that.

"Good point." The brunet mumbled as the doors opened up. She stepped in, Cheyenne and Kris following behind. As they started to go down the shaft, Elise tilted her head slowly at the intention of a fist on the wall. She tilted her head the other way before sighing. A brute must have gotten upset and punched it. She was going to force herself to believe that up until her eyes trailed to the corner of the elevator, showing one of Kagami's green gloves from the dance.

"Hey, guys." The young farm girl narrowed her eyes before looking up. "You don't think anyone could break into Beacon, do you?"

"Maybe." Cheyenne looked back. "Why do you ask?"

Sighing back, the brunet lowered her head some. "I think... Kagami is in trouble."

Walking into an abandoned factory with weapons stacked up high, Nihilus held Kagami over his shoulder.

The young Huntress in training started to stir finally, groaning ever so softly. She went to move, feeling her wrist tied together by rope. She went to open her eyes, only to see red. She grimaced, realizing she was blindfolded. There went using the gift her mother had given her. If she couldn't see their eyes, she couldn't do anything.

"Hey!" Nihilus called out, swinging Kagami off his shoulder before tossing her onto the ground in front of Valentine. He then crossed his arms, leaning back a bit. "There's the rat you wanted." He glanced down at the jade haired girl who shifted slowly. "Your daughter is rather good at finding out camera positions and when and where I would need to use my semblance."

Nodding slowly, Valentine bent down and grabbed Kagami's face. "So you are the one who has been causing my employees so much trouble lately. Or at least the leader of that band of misfits you call as team."

With her heart racing, Kagami's breathing slowly started to become rapid. She couldn't see a thing aside from the red fabric across her eyes. She didn't want to admit it, but she was terrified. Her stomach was twisting around like she hadn't eaten in weeks. Feeling the hand grip her face tighter, she softly growled. She jerked her head, opening her mouth and biting down on it.

Kagami then heard a shriek of pain coming from her captor. The world went silent for a moment before she felt a high heel ram into her stomach. She tossed her head back, gasping for air. She rolled over, curling up as she spat out.

"You're feisty. I like that ib my victims." Valentine's wicked voice filled the air as Kagami groaned. She went to sit up, only to grunt as the same heel struck her face and sent her back down.

Her breathing and heartbeat only grew worse and worse. Her heart was pounding inside her ears as fear coursed through every nerve in her body. She bit her lip, feeling her body start to tremble. She then began to sit up again. "Wh-What do you want...?" She let out in a timid voice though she tried to make it sound as brave as she could.

"I want you to scream." The pink haired demon started to chuckle. Kagami gritted her teeth, hearing footsteps start to walk around her in a circle. "And I want a revolution. I want you to bow down to me and submit."

Tensing as everything went sielnce, she let her jade hair fall around her face. She then took a deep breath, slowly standing up. She wobbled a bit, her knees shaking in fear. "Sorry..." She let out in a near whisper. "I don't do that..."

"I was hoping you would say that." Valentine spoke back. The sound of knuckles cracking filled the air as Kagami brought herself to take another deep breath. She could outlast this. Her friends would be here soon enough. Wouldn't they? She shook off the negative thoughts, bracing herself. They would. She had faith in them.

In Ozpin's office, gears creaked and turned as the headmaster took a sip of his hot chocolate. "So you are telling me, you believe you leader was kidnapped by a band of criminals that broke into my academy?" His eyebrows raised as he leaned forward.

"Yes." Elise said plainly with a nod. "I do."

While standing next to Ozpin, Glynda softly sighed and rubbed her face. "They refuse to go on their shadowing mission until we... go look for young Kagami."

Nodding slowly, Ozpin set his cup down. "I see. You refuse to go check out an assumed hideout for criminals in an old factory? You four have caused more trouble than I have seen, yet you're refusing go go now?"

"Well Kagami is in trouble." Kris crossed her arms. "She wouldn't just leave."

"She has before. Why wouldn't she again?" He glanced over at her.

The red head simply raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"

"She ran away from home." He leaned back. "Much like you. Why wouldn't she run again?"

"Because that's not like her now." Elise shot in. "She's different."

"Hold on." Cheyenne had been silent the whole time. "We'll go with Goodwitch to the factory. We won't argue."

Raising her eyebrows, Elise looked over at the Faunus. "What?"

"Trust me." She quietly spoke. "Coincidences happen a lot. You just need to be abld to spot them."

Sighing, the brunet glared in her elders direction. "Fine. Kris, we're going."

"But-" The red head went to protest but stopped as Cheyenne reached out and grabbed her arm. She then sighed, looking up extremely annoyed. "Fine. No arguing. I'll come."


	29. Breaking And Entering

The silence was suddenly broken, Kagami grunting heavily as her back struck the concrete ground below. She took several deep breaths before rolling over onto her side and clenched her eyes shut tight. She laid there still, her teeth grinding against each other as she breathed through the gaps between them. That last blow had done it for sure.

"I believe you just lost the last of your aura." Valentine was smiling as she crouched down next to her captive. "You lasted much longer than I thought you would too. I'm rather impressed." She simply smiled more, standing up as she heard footsteps behind her.

Walking in was Eri, her skinny arms crossed over her chest. "You're still toying with her?" She raised an eyebrow, glancing up at the pink haired woman. "Why not just kill her already and get it over with. The longer you keep her here, the more of a chance you'll have of someone coming here to try and get her." Her eyes slowly trailed down to the floor, locking on the girl who figured out her semblance.

"I could," Valentine moved her arms back, stretching out her shoulders. "But there is no fun in doing that." She gave off a soft demonic chuckle. "Why do you like to let someone or something else kill your victums rather than by your own hands?"

The small blonde blinked a few times befor sighing, her arms dropping down as she nodded. "Alright. Fair enough."

"Plus," She knelt down besides Kagami, holding out a hand. Her long pink nail slowly trailed across the young girls cheek. "Her mind and body can only handle so much. Sooner or later she'll have to give in. And when she does submit..." She gripped the side of Kagami's face, getting a few strands of the jade hair. "She'll become a fine pawn for me and for Her."

Inside her head, Kagami could feel her heart pounding. It was one thing to be in a fight, but it was another to be sitting around and unable to see. Her anxiety and stress was as high as it could possibly be. Her stomach was twisting into knots, not from pain but from the fear coursing through ever nerve in her body. She had already been pulling on the ropes binding her wrist enough to cause intentions from the rope onto her wrist. She was starting to give in, that was until she heard the word submit.

"Like hell..." The Huntress in training mumbled, her voice low and raspy. In an instant, she jerked her head to the side and clamped her teeth down on the hand holding her face. It was small. Half the palm as well as two fingers were inside her mouth before Kagami heard a cry followed by a jerk on the limb she was biting down on.

Hissing like a snake, Valentine rubbed her right hand with her left, small red marks left behind in teeth marks. Her golden eyes were narrowed like daggers, glaring down at Kagami.

Eri blinked once before she burst into laughter, her hands on her stomach. "Oh yeah! Shell be great once she submits! Totally great! You just may have the problem of actually getting her on your side!" She reached up, rubbing her eyes as she started to calm down.

"Quiet!" The pink haired demon snapped, her head shooting back at the blonde before she looked back at Kagami with anger burning in her eyes. "My daughter has told me many things about you." She walked over, standing above the exhausted and aching girl. "One of them being that you're from Vytal."

Kagami gave off a soft groan, not to her captor, but to the fact that she only told Elise she was from Vytal. And apparently, that brown haired farmer spoke what was on her mind as always.

"I know a lot about them. Expecially on how corrupt they are now. How's their motto go now a days?" She gave a faint smirk. "Wasn't it... bushido, isn't it? Vytal has a very special ancient language, doesn't it? Could you tell me what the word means?" She licked her lips, smiling down at Kagami.

The jade haired girl tensed, shifting ever so slightly. "The way of the warrior..." She mumbled as low as she could.

"Right, right." She knelt down, brushing her pink hair behind her ears. "What's another word from that old language... seppuku, right?" A grin started to form. "I've always loved that word but have trouble remembering what it means. What is it again?"

"Death... before dishonor..." Kagami spoke even quieter, breathing through clenched teeth.

"Ah, yes." She nodded back, resting her chin on her left hand. "Death before dishonor. Doesn't that mean it would be better for you to kill yourself rather than have me actually harm you? I mean, without aura, it will be pretty easy to do so."

There was a silence before Eri's chuckling slowly came across the room and echoed back. "You know, you're rather good at twisting people around with words."

Valentine smiled at Kagami's silence before she slowly stood up. "I can always let you commit suicide if you don't want to break your Vytal code. Or we could just continue and you bring dishonor to your whole family."

"That may work..." Kagami started to softly breath before she gave off a soft groan and sat up. "But the thing is..." She inhaled deeply, tilting her head up towards the voice speaking to her. "I couldn't care less about the stupid ideas of Vytal. I hated it there. I don't give a damn about bushido or any of that worthless crap." She flashed her teeth, her body tensing up as her hands urned into fist.

Valentine gave a growl, glaring down. In an instant, her leg shot up and her heel collided with Kagami's jaw. "You have to snap at some point!"

Kagami fell back, groaning softly. She spat out red while tasting iron in her mouth. She would snap at some point, she knew that. But she would only snap when she lost hope. And she still had faith in her friends coming to find her, so that hope wasn't going anywhere.

"Well, I'm bored with Dion gone so..." Eri looked up at Valentine while crossing her arms. "Need another set of hands?"

Glaring down with hateful gold eyes, she slowly nodded. "Find me a baseball bat. I'll make this brat submit one way or another."

Sitting in the back of a moving van driven by Beacon staff member, Glynda, Elise softly sighed while running her finger across the back of her rifle where a heart spray painted in green was. She put that on years ago. It was her attempted projected to be artsy. She tried to make a pair of deer antlers in the shape of a heart, not that it worked very well. Her father laughed for hours when she showed him.

She took a deep breath, saying again as she leaned her head back. "Are we there yeeeeet?" She groaned out, shutting her eyes. "It's boring just sitting in here and waiting!"

In an instant, the older Huntress shot her head back. She glared, her green eyes narrowing before she looked away. Immediately, Elise went silent as she clutched her weapon tight.

Cheyenne softly chuckled, hiding it as much as she could. "You really shouldn't say whatever comes to your mind. It's going to get you in trouble one day." She whispered.

As the brunet rolled her eyes, Kris stared out the window and watched as the buildings rushed past. She glanced dow at herself, checking her inside pockets for toys before she looked back up. The buildings were slowly starting to get a more grim look to them. It was like an olden darkness started to come upon them. Even the sun started to fade, turning the sky dark as the group entered a more shady side of Vale.

"Hey, Aunt Glynda?" She looked forward. "Say Kagami is in trouble for real, then what?"

The blonde woman glanced in the rear-veiw mirror before she looked back at the road, eyes narrowing. "No one came in or out of Beacon from what we saw." Her voice was still filled with authority. "Whether she ran off on her own or if some perhaps took her, Ozpin nor I have any recognition of it. Understood?"

The small girl sighed, leaning her head against the window. "Yeah, yeah."

Elise sighed back, her shoulders dropping some. "Are we there yeeeeet-!" She was cut off, yelping as the van came to a sudden stop.

Kris glanced up, chuckling softly with a faint smile.

"Now." Glynda turned around, eyes glaring at the three girls. "You three do exactly what I say and do not make any unneeded noises. Do you understand, Miss Spruce?"

The farm girl grumbled softly, slwoly nodding. "Yes ma'am."

"Good." Ozpin's second hand opened her door, stepping out and walking away.

"I see why no one wanted to work with her." Cheyenne mumbled, throwing her Atlas rifle over her shoulder.

"Dido." Elise muttered, slowly sliding out of the van as Kris followed.

Minutes later, on the rooftops of a building next to an old worn down factory. With her rifle raised, Elise was looking around through her scope at the entrance and other doors. She chewed on her lip a bit before she caught a glimpse of a few Faunus in White Fang uniforms. "It's definitely a hideout for some WFs alright." She gave a nod, lowering her arms down, looking at the full fledged Huntress next to her. "So what's the plan? Dive right in? Jump through a window? Stealth?"

"No." Glynda shook her head, arms crossed. She gave glanced down at the front door, eyes narrowing.

"Then what?" Kris looked up at her aunt. "Dropped in from the roof? What about climbing through the vents?"

"No." The blonde simply shook her head more.

Cheyenne blinked a few times, looking at where Glynda was looking. She blinked a bit more, staring at the front door before her eyes went wide. "Oh... no way..." Was all she let out.

Inside the building, a male Faunus holding an Atlas rifle looked over at his partner. "Hey, Ralph, you seen the new lady who joined us?"

Under his mask, the other raised his eyebrows up and looked over. He was leaning against a wall. "No. Is she pretty?"

"Oh yeah." He gave a nod with a smile. "She has some pretty vicious claws too if you know what I mean."

He chuckled back, looking back towards the front door they were guarding. "I love a woman who is fierce, don't you?"

His smile grew a bit before he stretched his shoulders. "I love a woman who owns a nice bed even more-" He was cut off, the front door flying right off the hinges and between the two of them. They both looked down at it, blinking a few times before looking at each other. They then looked up, blinking rapidly at the door. The both caught a glimpse of purple before the two of them were knocked out cold.

Gripping the edge of the doorframe, Elise popped her head inside the building. "Well, I definitely see where Kris gets her attitude from."

"Come on." Cheyenne grabbed the back of Elise's camouflage jacket and pulled her inside. "Before Kris shows her the insanity that runs in her family."

"Just wait till you meet my mother." The red head mumbled, reaching behind her and grabbing her candy cane weapons. "When you meet her, everything insane to you will become sane. That's how insane she is."

"That made... zero sense." Cheyenne muttered. She quickly snapped her head up at the sound of men yelling in the distance. She reached down, gripping her rifle.

"Well here we go." Elise swung her own weapon off her shoulder, holding it up. "It's time to clear this place out."

"I hope you girls are ready." Glynda spoke in a hushed tone, twirling her riding crop around in her fingers.

"Freeze!" A White Fang member shouted, holding up an Atlas rifle. "Don't move!" His eyes narrowed under the Grimm mask her wore. Seeing movement from the intruders, he pulled the trigger hard.

Cheyenne gave a faint smile, holding up her own gun. "Sorry. Mine's modified." She squeezed the trigger, sending off a stronger blast. She then looked back at her teammates and teacher. "Might want to shut your eyes."

As the two blast connected, Cheyenne's blast shot up into a bright white light. A shock wave went all throughout the room, sending each of them stumbling back. More than that, the White Fang members each dropped their weapons and reached up to rub there eyes with complaining cries.

Cheyenne looked up, smiling ever so slightly. "Modification are cooler." She mumbled under her breath.

"They really are..." Elise mumbled before looking over at Kris. "Bet I can shoot more of them than you." She held up her rifle as the disoriented Faunus.

"Please." The red head held up both her candy canes. "I have two ways to shoot."

One by one, each of the lower ranking White Fang members fell. One of them started to get their barings back. He glanced around, eyes going wide as he watched his comrades collapse. He then stumbled back himself. He glanced down, seeing a dart in his chest. A second later, he was flat on the ground unconcious.

"Got six of them." Elise smirked, resting her rifle on her shoulder.

With a smile, Kris walked forward, stepping over the unconcious Faunus. "Nine dropped down because of me."

The brunet blinked a few times, her shoulders dropping down. "Darn it." She mumbled faint before Glynda nudged her onward.

This lasted far into the night. Endless hours of fighting and running. The group of four cleared the whole top two floors and main floor, finding grates of weapons stacked up as high as the ceiling could go. Exhaustion was starting to hit the three young girls as they made it to the basement.

"Kagami has to be down there." Cheyenne quietly spoke to Elise as they went down a flight of stairs. "I've heard enough to come to the conclusion she is."

Nodding softly behind her, Elise gripped her rifle tight as she gulped. "I hope she's okay..." She glanced up. "Do you... think she's okay if they did take her? And how would they even do it?"

"I don't know. Beacon is one of the most well guarded places in Vale. To sneek in undetected and sneek out with someone too. It sounds impossible." The Faunus glanced back at her as they reached a door. She glanced back at her friend before back at the door. "Hang on, Kagami." She raised her foot, kicking the door in.

Immediately, Elise charged in with her rifle raised. "Hands-!" She stopped herself, blinking rapidly. Her arms then lowered down at the sight of merely wooden crates lined up. "...up..." She mumbled quietly. Her eyes lit up in concern before she glanced back up at Cheyenne who was walking around with wide eyes.

"I could have sword she would..." The Faunus then sighed, lowering her head down. "Maybe... she did run away from us. Maybe the dance was too much for her."

"No." Elise swung her rifle over her shoulder, looking all around the basement before she turned on her heels and stormed up the flight of stares. "I know her. She wouldn't."

Up on the main floor, Kris was helping her aunt in assisting police with taking White Fang members into custody. The second she saw Cheyenne and Elise, her head shot up and she smiled. That look quickly faded when she didn't see a sign of Kagami. "Where's-" She stopped herself, watching as Elise stormed passed her. "Huh?" She looked over at the farm girl.

In an instant, Elise picked up a still drousy Faunus by the collar and held him up. Her eyes looked with his. Without his mask on, she could see gills on his cheekbones. "Alright. I'm going to ask this once and only once before I actually get upset." Her eyes locked with his, anger boiling deep behind them. "Where's your main hideout?"

The Faunus struggled a bit, his eyes going wide at the young girl in front of him. "I... don't have to tell you anything."

It only took Elise a few seconds to let go of the Faunus and load a hunting dart into her air compressed rifle. A moment later, it was pressed up against his head.

"Miss Spruce!" Glynda snapped, taking a step before she stopped at the arm outstretched in front of her.

"It's fine." Cheyenne muttered, looking up. "She swore never to use that dart on a person. It's fine. She wouldn't do it."

"I can vogue for her too." Kris looked back, arms crossed before she sighed. "She only uses that dart for Grimm or hunting for food."

Giving a slow nod, the blonde woman glanced down at Cheyenne. "So I'm assuming Kagami wasn't down there?"

"Yeah." The deer Faunus sighed, looking down. She then blinked, looking up. "How did you-?"

"There are moles in Beacon." Glynda interrupted her. "Ozpin and I know of them. We just do not know who they are or what they are planning. All we know is that they are inside of our school. Waiting. Watching us." She watched as the Faunus Elise was threatening started to shake. "Besides, Ozpin and I have both met a family member of your friend. She wouldn't just leave without a valid reason."

The light haired brunet nodded, looking back over at Elise who dropped the Faunus. She then walked over, slinging her weapon over her shoulder. She glanced between Kris and Cheyenne before she looked up at Glynda. "Miss Goodwitch?"

The Huntress blinked a few times. Elise had never been someone to call people by their full names or in a more formal way. "Yes?" She crossed her arms.

"May my friends and I be excused from our school mission now?" She locked her eyes with Glynda's.

Nodding slowly, the older blonde looked between Cheyenne and Kris before back at Elise. "And where will you be going?"

"Just for a walk around the city of Vale. Maybe stop by a place down on the west end of the city near the coast." She adjusted her jacket a bit.

"I see." She glanced at the Faunus with gills before back at Elise. "Be careful on that side of town. Scrolls were made for communication. Got it?"

"Understood, ma'am." The brunet let out, taking a deep breath as she looked at her friends.

Meanwhile, with her jaw clenched and deep breathing, Kagami was on her knees. She groaned deeply. Aside from the small red line coming from her mouth, her knees felt like they were on fire. She took a deeo breath and with extremely shaky legs, slowly forced herself to stand back up. "You don't deserve... to have someone bow to you..." Kagami repeated for what felt like the hundredth time.

With narrowed eyes, Valentine glared while standing in front of the young girl. "You will submit and kneel." Her voice hissed as she jerked her head towards Eri.

The small blonde smiled, twirling a baseball bat around before it struck the back of Kagami's knees. "Whoops!" She giggled softly at the bruised skin she was hitting.

Kagami cried out, dropping back down to her knees. She grunted heavily as her kneecaps hit the hard floor below. She grinded her teeth together, holding in her screams of pain. This was becoming more than a fight for her life and the faith she had in her friends. This was becoming a fight on what little pride she still had inside her. Not to mention the few details she was leaning. Just because she was blindfolded didn't mean she couldn't hear. And from the four voices that came in and only, only one of which was male, she came to the conclusion of some things.

First, there was plenty more people to this criminal revolt. There was some other crime lord in town helping someone else. And while the ones here were after weapons, the others were after Dust. Second, their informant in Beacon was a first year transfer from Haven and a female. Also, apparently, she was the woman in front of her's daughter. And third, there was more to this than just stealing from the military. There was something far worse planned, but with how vague they spoke, it was impossible to put details together. and also the fact these people really did not like her. If only she was able to see.

"I..." Kagami took a deep breath, grimacing in pain as she stood back up slowly again. She panted, her chest rising and falling rapidly. "I will not kneel down... or submit... to you or anyone..." She held her chin up slowly, clenching her eyes shut. Rather than hearig words though, she felt pain in the back of her knees firsr. She gave off a quick scream, dropping down. She could feel tears starting to swell up in her eyes.

"Elise... Kris... Cheyenne..." She spoke under her breath so no one else in the room could hear her. "Hurry..." She gulped, holding in a whimper as she went to stand again.

As her pained cries echoed throughout the room, the rest of her team stood several blocks away from a large factory building in the distance. "Is that it?" Cheyenne asked quietly.

Glancing over at Kris, Elise gave a nod and looked back up. She was worried. Beyond worried. She had already been bargaining with the great Lord Oum that if they found Kagami, she would stop with all this messing around and actual focus on school for once. "Sure is." She mumbled. All she wanted was her friend back.


	30. Deception

In the cold and dark air of early morning hours, Cheyenne glanced around, breathing softly. With her hands inside her vest pockets, she slowly walked around the old factory building to a low key door. This shouldn't be that hard. She was a part of the White Fang before. She could lie her way through this again.

She paused, standing in front of the door. She took a deep breath, her exhale coming out of her mouth like a cloud. Her arm slowly started to raise, her hand turning into a fist before she knocked her knuckles against the cold metal. She did so four times before lowering her arm down. When nothing happened, she did this once again. This time, there was a reaction.

The door quickly swung open, the hinges squeaking like they were about to break. In an instant, two barrels were pointed at the young deer Faunus. "Who are you?!" A male Faunus with scales on his hands demanded, eyes narrowing under his Grimm mask.

Blinking a few times, Cheyenne forced herself to remain calm as she held up her hands. "Hey, hey guys. Calm down. It's me. I just escaped from some stupid human's custody. Relax."

The two of them seemed puzzled at first, glancing at each other before their rifles started to lower. "You know," The other White Fang member mumbled. "I think I have seen her around here before."

"Yeah." The one with scales nodded, lowering his weapon all the way. "Think you're right. Sorry about that. It was an honest mistake." His tone showed how sincere he was, even though he was a theif and a criminal.

"Don't worry." Cheyenne let out, sticking her hands inside her vest pockets. Her heart had never been racing so hard before. What if Kagami wasn't even here and they were off on some wild goose chase. To break into a factory this large and with so many armed Faunus, it was pure suicide. At least the other place they had gone was barely guarded. This one though, this one was definitely well protected. One mistake and she knew she would not like the outcome.

"Well, come on." The second Faunus waved her in.

Giving a forced smile, she gave a nod. As she stepped inside, she placed her hand over the lock on the door. She then shut it, gently moving her hand to the side and silently unlocking the door. "Thanks, guys. I owe you one. It's pretty chilly with that dark morning air."

"I hear you." The Faunus woth scales said as he started to walk over towards a wall to lean against. "Being cold blooded doesn't help the matter either."

"You're just being a baby." The other rolled his eyes, leaning on the wall across from him.

Cheyenne just shook her head at the both of them, walking between them and away. "Later you two. And good."

"Good luck?"

"Good luck for what?"

She didn't even bother to look back to see who said what. She simply kept on walking until she heard two very soft thuds. She then stopped, half smiling back at the door. "Took you long enough."

Pulling her air-compressed rifle up to rest on her shoulder, Elise came up from crouching between the door frame and the door. It was a small crack but just enough for her to aim. "Hey, I'm not secretly the world's greatest assassin for nothing." She spoke softly, glancing all around.

"Well," Kris slowly slid inside the building, closing the door and locking it quietly. "I'll have fo agree with you on that. Mainly since a certain word is spelled twice in assassin."

Groaning ever so slightly, Elise reached down and picked up the Grimm mask off of one of the Faunus. As she did so, she revealed a pair of fangs in his mouth. "I really do hate you."

"You love me." Kris flashed a smile, taking the other mask off the Faunus with scales.

"So," Cheyenne looked back at her friends with a rather worried expression. Her heart was still pounding. "Half an hour. We meet back here in half an hour. If you get caught, hide. Just hide. Don't try to fight hem off. Hide and call one of us."

Elise gave a reassuring smile, placing the Grimm mask over her face. "You don't have too worry. I promise."

"Just take care of yourself too." Kris glanced up, taking off the Fanus' White Fang uniform. "We already have one friend missing. We don't need another."

Giving a nod, the deer Faunus did her best to smile. "Half an hour."

Hours before, laying in her bed in MVVV's dorm room, Maya was lacing up a pair of tennis shoes as Prac walked past in a white muscle tee and his boxers which had little pig heads on them.

"You going out for your midnight run?" He asked before sitting down in his bed. When he did so, the mattress was screaming at his weight. Behind him, his two brothers were already sound asleep and snoring loud enough to cause an earthquake.

"Yeah." Maya nodded. "You should sleep though. It's getting late."

He gave a smile before nodding. "And so should you. I know how when you run you feel the wind rushing by you and it relaxes you, but you're human too."

"Blah, blah, blah." She rolled her eyes. "It's not like I can run in the day. I have class and then there is too many people when I try after class."

"Well," He laid back, bending his left leg before putting his left over it. "Return shortly. It's dangerous at night. Even for someone as strong as you."

"Right." Maya nodded, standing up as she took off her beanie and put her hair up in a ponytail. With that, she turned and headed towards the door.

"Hey, Maya?" Prac glanced up at her with a gulp.

"Yeah?" She looked back as she opened the door and raised her eyebrows.

"Well..." He lowered his head down when he felt heat rushing to it. "Mind picking up some of those candy mud pies from the store while you're out? I'll repay you the lien later."

She gave a soft laugh, stepping out. "Sure thing, it's no problem." She then shut the door, leaving her teammate alone in silence.

With a groan, he reached up and rubbed his. "Damn it. You dope." He rubbed his face harder. He didn't even notice one of his brothers had stopped snoring. "You're such an idiot. Idiot!"

"Why don't you just tell her already?"

When Prac heard the voice, he gave off a feminine yelp and scrambled on his bed for a few seconds. "Fif!" He hissed, eyes narrowing in the dark.

"Yes?" The youngest brother softly chuckled.

Giving off a scream, the eldest rolled over and covered himself in his blanket. "Goodnight."

"Praccy..." He sighed, sitting up a bit. "Fid and I already have both told you, we do not like her. You're allowed to go after her."

"I still can't." He quietly mumbled while shaking his head. "She has shown no interest."

"I know father has told us not to be forceful when trying to find someone, but still, it's a simple meal with you two alone. It's not like you asked to marry her."

"Just... go to sleep, Fif." Prac quietly said.

"But-" Fif stopped himself, sighing softly as he got comfortable again. "Night then."

On the streets, Maya was breathing in the cool air as wing rushed past her. It wasn't a lie when she said she enjoyed running through the night. The feeling was amazing. Even when she was smaller, to get away from her adoptive mother, she would run for hours. It was her relief. Her unyielding hero.

She slowed down as she reached the building the wicked pink haired demon did her deeds with the help of the White Fang. She glanced around, making sure no one was looking before she jogged around to the back and knocked on a door four times. She waited, the door opening up.

"Hey, Maya." A White Fang member with high ranking welcomed her with a nod. "You're here late. Do you know that?" His tone was half harsh.

Maya gritted her teeth a bit, rolling her eyes as she pushed her way past him. "I can't wait till your shift is over and there are those newer guys here to take your place."

"I still don't trust you. Or that mother of yours." His eyes narrowed as he shut the door. "And they're coming later tonight! Hopefully they act better than you!"

"They'll definitely be nicer than you." She grumbled, walking through the building and towards a door. She opened it, walking down the steps that followed.

Down below, Kagami was breathing softly while laying on her side and halfway curled up. She was exhausted and weak all over. She groaned, rolling over onto her back and breathing a little heavier. Before anything else could happen though, she heard footsteps followed by a new voice. It was a voice she could have sworn she knew but could not place it at the moment.

"You... still have her?" The voice seemed almost shocked in her question. "I thought you we're just going to teach her a lesson and then let her go?"

Valentine began to pace around Kagami yet again. The young Huntress in training's heart was pounding in tune with the steps. "Well," The pink menace chuckled. "That is what I told you."

Kagami heard her stop next to her head before she heard the sound of her crouching down. She the winced, feeling a hand on her face.

"I even told Nihilus that. But the thing is... I'm rather interested in her. I'm sure She will be too. I've never heard of this... this Mirrored-Eye thing and neither has She. It's something definitely lost to the legends of Remnant. So," Valentine removed her hand as she stood back up. "I think I'll keep her and break her. She'll be a useful resource on our side."

"You..." A sudden rush of panic was in the words spoken. "You can't do that."

This confused Kagami greatly. This person, from the likes of the conversation they were having, she could only assume that this person was the one who helped the boy who kidnapped her get into Beacon. She had to be the mole. She had to be this woman's daughter. But who could it be? The voice sounded all too familiar.

"And why not?" Venom filled Valentines voice, making the jade haired girl flinch.

"Because..." With a gulp, Maya glanced down at Kagami before locking eyes with her adoptive mother. "Having her may cause several things to your advantage, but it will cause more disadvantages."

With eyebrows raiaed, Valentine started to pace forward. "Do explain, deae child."

She took another deep breath, glancing down at Kagami once me. She had to make this believable. "You see," She looked up. She then pulled down her hair and pulled her beanie from her pocket before she put it on. "I've spent a decent amount of time with her and the people around her. They won't stop until they find her. They are already snooping around enough. They will do it more if you have one of their own. Trust me, mother, please. If you let her go, I can promise you, she and all the other problems that bother you will no longer do such. They will be too afraid. I promise. Once they see what a person who has power can do, they will know their place and stand down. Please, believe me."

Silence fell across the room. Kagami's mind was racing as fast as her heart. There was so much she was trying to take in and process at the same time. It was becoming overwhelming.

"I see..." Valentine rubbed her chin a bit. She glanced down, eyes narrowing down at Kagami. "I do hope you would be smart enough to try anything again. In that case..." She turned back to Maya, walking towards her. "I'll have some of those cult members drop her off tomorrow night. A day in a solitude like this shiuld do well."

Maya let out a sigh of relief when she walked past and began to head uo the stares. She slowly looked down at Kagami, gulping slightly. "Don't try her." She whispered quietly. "She's not someone you want to mess with, so please, don't try her."

This confused Kagami even more. When she heard footsteps heading off, she groaned and rolled over onto her side. This made absolute zero sense. Why would someone who helped her get kidnapped want her to not be killed or in danger? "I can't believe this..." She mumbled quietly to herself as she let her body relax in the room she was alone in. she still had faith her friends were going to come and she needed to be rested for it.

Hours later, Cheyenne was walking through the hallways of the factory building carefully. She had a better chance than her two friend on fitting in, but she was far more worried than the both of them combined.

She slowly made her way to a door and leaned up against it. She turned the handle quietly, checking to see if it was unlocked. This was at least the twelfth door she check, but unlike the others, this one was unlocked. She glanced around, waiting for a female and male Faunus to walk off before she opened the door and slid inside.

There, she froze. On the outside, the room seemed dead silent and empty, but on the inside, there was a young Faunus sitting on the ground while cleaning a rifle.

Her eyes immediately widened before she jumped to her feet. "I-I swear! I'm cleaning them as fast as I can!" Out from under her came a large and fluffy tail. She seemed more of a fearful girl than a criminal though.

"Alright, alright." Cheyenne held up her arms, trying to calm her down. "It's fine." Her eyes stared at the girl. She didn't seem to be more than fourteen. She was definitely younger than Kris though.

With a sigh of relief, she slowly sat back down and went to cleaning. "I just... my fingers started to hurt and I needed to take a break so I got behind."

"It's completely fine. I remember when I first joined the White Fang. I was on cleaning duty for the first few months." She cautiously walked over towards the girl.

A look flashed over her face, her head lowering some.

At that, Cheyenne blinked a bit then raised her eyebrows. "You... didn't join?"

"Well... yes and no." The girl looked up. "My brother joined and I got dragged along. I didn't want to, but I didn't have anywhere else to go."

She stared for several long seconds before she held out a hand for a rag. She needed to search for Kagami, but she could not just leave this girl alone. "Here. I'll help."

She seemed confused and shocked for a moment before she reached over, grabbing a second rag before handing it to Cheyenne. "Thanks." She gave a soft smile.

"Don't worry." She said down next to the girl. "My name is Cheyenne. You?"

"Bushy." She spoke quietly. "Bushy Smith." Up closer, Cheyenne could see how the young Faunus had dark skin with brown hair and chocolate eyes.

"Well, alright, Bushy." Cheyenne grabbed a rifle. "I'll help you quickly clean the rest of these."

"Thanks." Bushy smiled a bit more with a nod. "Thanks a lot."

As Cheyenne helped her clean, Elise was slowly walking around but with a brave and confident look. She actually didn't look so bad in a White Fang uniform. She began to think about doing undercover work to keep her mind clear from all the horrors of this place. It actually helped a lot.

She eventually came up to a few Faunus and crossed her arms. "Hey, have any of you guys heard anything about that girl we have?" She said plainly. She was doing a rather good job at sounding like she belonged here.

"Who?" A male asked as he leaned back. This made Elise's heart skip a bit. Was Kagami not here?

"I think I have." A female Faunus without shoes on said. Her feet were like bear claws. "Some green haired girl. Boss is pretty upset with her."

Elise did her best to hide her smile under her mask. "What she even do?"

"Who knows." She the bear Faunus shrugged back. "All I know is the boss came out of a lower room in the south west side a few hours ago with an annoyed look and her daughter behind her."

"I see." She gave a nod back before gritting her teeth. "Filthy human was probably messing with our plans." It pained her to say that.

"At least you didn't say that the human wasn't worse than a mouse." She said, hitting a large male on the chest. "Like some people." She grumbled. "Some people who know I have mpuse friends."

"Sorry." The large male waved his hands in defense. "It just slipped. I didn't mean for it to."

"Suuure." The female rolled her eyes.

"Um, hey guys." The one who didn't know anything about the captured girl pointed where Elise was once standing. "Where'd she go? And what's the awful smell?"

The bear Faunus sniffed the air before making a disgusted sound. "Either human or you farted again." She smacked the big one on the chest again.

"Ow! Stop that!" He snapped. "I swear I didn't!"

"Well there is clearly no humans here!" The female shot back.

Elise had her gun up and ready to fire as she slowly made her way down a flight of stares. In the staircase itself, it was nearly impossible to see anything. All she could see was the dim light at the bottom. The closer she came, the harder it was for her to breathe. What if Kagami wasn't even down here? What if all of this was for nothing? She quickly shook her head as she kept going. There was no time to think about that.

Finally, she stepped into the light, her darkened body being overcome by light. Her eyes quickly scanned the room, before she froze. In the middle of the room, Kagami was laying. Elise immediately dropped her gun, the sound of it striking the ground making Kagami stir.

"Kagami!" She shouted at the top of her lungs. She fell to her knees, sliding down next to her. She quickly threw off the Grimm mask she was wearing and pulled a small pocket knife from her pocket. She immediately slashed the ropes at Kagami's wrist, but before she could do anymore, Kagami was ontop of her.

With heavy breathing, Kagami gripped the wrist of whoever had entered. her other hand reached up, pulling the red blindfold off her eyes. She then stopped, slowly lowering her arm. She stared down at Elise, her eyes widening. "Elise...?" She mumbled quietly.

Staring back up at her, Elise gulped. She was on the verge of tears herself. She quickly sat up, brushing her hand across Kagami's face to wipe away blood. "You're hurt."

Giving a faint smile, her leader reached up to grab her hand. "I know. I feel like hell. But right now... we need to get out of here."

"Right. Right." The brunet nodded back with a gulp. Kagami's face was covered in several bruises and her eyes seemed to show how deadly tired she was. Still though, the jade haired girl was genuinely smiling.

"Then come on." Kagami went to stand, struggling to get up with the pain in her knees.

"Here." Elise helped her stand, patting her back softly. "Don't worry. I'll help you. We got this."

"Thanks..." She took a deep breath, lowering her head down a bit before looking over with a smile. "I'd knew you guys would be here..."

"You'd do the same for us." She reached down, grabbing the Grimm mask along with her rifle. "It's only fair we return the favor."

Smiling a little softer, Kagami slowly made her way up the stairs with Elise help. "How anout we NOT have any of you get kidnapped...?"

"Fair enough." She nodded back. "Now we're going to need to be really good at this. We're on the first floor but we're on the other side of where we need to be. And we sorta need to be there really fast an undetected."

"I'm sure we'll figure it out..." The jade haired girl looked up, wincing a bit as they walked into the brightly lit hallway.

Two floors above, Cheyenne stood up and wiped her hands together. "There you go, Bushy." She gave a smile. "All of those are clean and you should be fine."

"Thanks..." The bear Faunus looked up with a soft smile. "It's a lot easier with two people."

"I know." She gave a nod. There was a long silence as she licked her lips. She glanced at the door before she looked back down at the very young Faunus. "Hey... Bushy... if you had the chance, would you leave the White Fang and your brother?"

More silence fell inside the room. Bushy looked down at the rifle in her hands before she looked back up. "I have... no other place to go."

"What if I promised you a place?" She tried to smile a bit more. "A place where you would be safe."

"I..." She trailed off, looking around before back up. "You're... not part of the White Fang... are you?" She seemed almost afraid.

"No." She softly shook her head. "Well... I was... but that was a long time ago. I came here because they took one of my friends. I came to get them back."

"And you... stopped to help me instead?" She raised an eyebrow.

Cheyenne nodded. "I know what it's like to be forced into something like this." She then held out her hand. "So do you want to come or not?"

Bushy was silent again before she slowly held out a shaky hand and grabbed Cheyenne's. "If my brother finds out-"

"It will be fine. I'm sure my friends and I can find you a safe place. I promise. You don't deserve to be somewhere like this place." She pulled the young Faunus up, her tail fluffing out again.

With a gulp, the younger Faunus looked around. She gulped a bit before she started to follow Cheyenne out. "You promise?"

With a nod, Cheyenne looked back with a serious face. "I promise." She would make sure this girl didn't end up like her if it was the last thing she did. She was going to give this girl something that she actually deserved and not this awful place.

Up on the higher levels, Kris sighed softly as she slowly made her way back down the stairs of the factory. She had never been so unlucky in her entire life. How she found absolutely zero, she will never know. All she could do was hope her friends had better luck than she.

As she came close to the meeting spot, Kris' eyebrows shot high upat the sight of Cheyenne and another Faunus. She half hissed, quickly walking over towards the two. "What in the world are you doing?" She demanded.

"Uh well," Cheyenne looked over at the squirrel Faunus before back at her teammate. "This is Bushy. She doesn't want to be here. So I decided to um... take her away from this place."

The red head immediately facepalmed with a groan. "We are suppose to be looking for Kagami!"

"I know... I know..." She moved her hands in defense then blinked. "Wait... if I don't have her and you don't." She gulped a bit and looked forward. "I hope Elise..."

"She probably did with her determination." She mumbled back before sighing. She then shoved the two Faunus forward. "Just hurry up you two."

At the meeting spot, Elise had Kagami's arm over her shoulder. She gritted her teeth, waiting for her teammates to appear. In the distance, she could hear people yelling When they finally did show up, her eyes went wide at the sight of the third person. "Who is that?" She snapped.

"Kagami!" Both Kris and Cheyenne said at the same time, ignoring Elise.

The brunet groaned, pointing towards Bushy. "Who?"

Cheyenne sighed, looking over at Kagami then Bushy before down a hallway. "Okay. We can all explain things later. Right now. I believe we need to go."

"I second that." Kagami looked up with a nod.

"Alright, let's go." Kris reached over, pushing the door open. "We can't exactly fight like this."

As the five of them quickly made their way out, Kagami slightly grimaced at the bright morning sun. She groaned softly, shaking her head. Her eyes weren't use to seeing light at the moment.

"You good?" Elise looked over at her.

"I'll be better when we get out of here..." She responded as they quickly made their way through a maze of alleys and streets.

"Come on, Bushy." Cheyenne said, holding her hand tight. "We need to hurry so none of them catch up."

The squirrel Faunus nodded, doing her best to stay caught up with the others.

By the time they got back to a safer part of Vale, the group had made their way to the east side of Vale that overlooked the the waters between it and Beacon.

"Okay... okay..." Kagami was panting heavily. "I think we're good... can we rest...?"

Elise glanced back, panting softly herself. "Yeah, I think we're alright." She gently set her friend down.

"Thank Lord Oum!" Kris collapsed onto the ground, breathing like she had just run a marathon. She was still not a runner no matter what.

"You good?" Cheyenne looked over at Bushy who had very shaky breathing.

"Y-Yeah..." She nodded, hands on her knees as she slowly sat down.

"So..." Elise gave a smile, glancing around. "I think I'm done with all this for a while..."

"I... agree..." Kagami almost said reluctantly. She didn't want to admit it, but what that woman had said was true. What that girl had said was true. That kidnapping was enough to knock her down for a good while.

"I guess I SHOULD pay attention in class." Kris mumbled.

To that, Cheyenne facepalmed. "You ALWAYS need to pay attention."

The red head rolled her eyes, sighing softly. "Whatever." She mumbled before her eyes widened as the ground started to shake. Her head lifted up, eyebrows raising. "What...?"

The others all looked over, Elise's eyes trailing up a line of smoke in the middle of the city. "What just..." She trialed off.

Kagami blinked once, hearing a siren start to sound off. "Isn't that..."

"That's the Grimm alarm..." Cheyenne said, her head looking around before it shot towards the rising smoke.

Kagami gritted her teeth, slowly pushing herself up to stand.

"Hey, hey! Easy!" Elise snapped in a worried tone.

Kagami looked over at her, gulping before back up at the smoke. "People are going to need help..." She mumbled.

"But-" She was cut off by Kagami.

"People will need help." She said plainly.

"I agree with Elise." Cheyenne looked back at her. "You're hurt."

Kagami gritted her teeth more, glaring at the smoke. She then pulled herself away from Elise. "I won't strain myself... I'm not going to let those people get hurt without me trying to help them..."

Kris smiled ever so slightly as she stood back up, tossing Kagami her scroll. "Get your sword." She looked back at Elise. "Trust her. She's smart enough not to be stupid. She'd stop herself or call one of us for help."

Elise sighed, glancing over at Bushy. "You." She reached down, grabbing her baton. "It has a button that causes an electric shock. Just in case." She tossed it over towards her. She simply sighed as Bushy struggled to catch itl

"Alright, one last thing before we take like a ten year break...?" Kagami muttered just as her locker crashed down behind her. "One last thing..."


	31. Saviors

"Here we go!" Elise cried out, sprinting off the top of a roof with her rifle over her shoulder. She grinned from ear to ear, letting her hair fly back behind her. Even as a black and shadowy figure flew in front of her, her smile did not falter. It rushed past, the dark beast screeching out as its wings flapped in the air. The Grimm had the sight of a human just seconds before, but now it had completely lost visual of her.

Suddenly, Elise's head popped up behind the large Nevermore's head. "Hey there." She leaned forward, half of her body on its head. She then half yelped as the bird jerked its head around. It quickly flew upward, flapping its wings around with a battle cry echoing from the depths of its lungs.

Softly chuckling, Elise kept a strong grip on the feathers of the demonic bird until it started to fly straight towards the ground. When it did, she braced her feet against its body and let go. She quickly launched herself upward into the air, looking down at the creature of Grimm as she pulled out her rifle and took aim. "Hope you like fireworks." She mumbled, squeezing the trigger.

The Nevermore looked up just in time to see a small black dart pierce its neck. It winced,, flying sideways for a second before it cried out, sparks dancing all across its body.

"Electricity... let's try some explosive darts! Haven't got to try these out yet!" She grinned, reaching into her pouch to pull out a dart. Even though the dark bird was stunned, it flapped its wings slowly as it shook its head and looked upward at the falling girl above. It opened its beak, letting out a screech.

Elise winced as the sound struck her ears. It was loud enough to shatter glass from every store around. "Gosh, you're annoying." She groaned, holding up her gun and aiming again. This time, she was aiming for inside the Nevermore's mouth. She took a deep breath, slowing down her heartbeat before she fired.

Just as the Grimm started to shut its mouth, the small dart colored red just barely made it through the crack in its beak and went down its throat. It paused for a moment before it jerked its head and coughed out a loud cloud of smoke.

"Darn it." Elise crossed her arms, glaring down at the Nevermore just as she fell past it. "I could have sworn it would have done-" She stopped herself, yelping as a huge hole suddenly formed from an explosion on the inside of the creature of darkness. "Okay! Too much Dust!" She shouted, holding out her hand. A red and white striped curved edge suddenly was in her grip. She smiled, looking down the chain that attached to it.

"You think?!" Kris snapped down below, jerking on the other end of her weapon and sending Elise flying through the air towards another Nevermore. "You're going to kill us all if the Grimm don't!"

The red head groaned, catching a glimpse of something moving behind her. She quickly jumped away, dodging the claw of a Beowolf. "I was talking to someone!" She growled, twirling her candy cane weapons around before she held them up and readied heraelf in a fighting stance.

The Grimm snarled back at her, slowly circling around the small girl. It sniffed the air a few times, scratching at the ground in an attempt to show dominance over the Huntress in training. Not that it was working though.

"You're mine, demon." She mumbled before darting forward. She might be able to run long distances, but she was definitely fast when it came to short a short distance. It only took her a few seconds to become face to face with the monster. It even seemed slightly surprised that she was there so fast. It tilted its head for a second before it brought a paw back and roared like a trumpet of war.

Kris twirled one cane around, eyes narrowing. She fired several shots, the Grimm stumbling back a bit. As its claw came around, she ducked down and dove right between it's legs. She smirked, quickly standing up with weapons up. She pressed a button on them, blades shooting out and piercing the Beowolf's back. It groaned out, its limbs dropping limp before fell forward with a thud.

"Nailed it." She smirked, pulling out her blades. Hearing a growl behind her, her eyes widened as she slowly looked back to see a medium sized Beoworlf behind her. "Oh hell..." She muttered as it drew its paw back.

Before it had a chance to strike though, a large blast struck its back and made it grunt heavily. It groaned, stumbling around. Kris raised an eyebrow, her shoulders dropping down a bit as another large blast struck it. With that, the creature of Grimm fell forward and hid the ground with a thud next to its already decaying brother.

"You're welcome!" A soft voice shouted.

Kris chuckled softly, looking over in the direction of where the blast came. "Thanks Chey!"

"No problem!" The deer Faunus called out, jumping out of the way of a Boarbatusk's rolling attack. She gritted her teeth, spinning around as she let her Atlas rifle transform back into regular blasting mode as she stared to rapidly fire.

"Too much armor plating..." She groaned, watching the creature stand back up. It shook its head a bit, clawing slowly at the ground before it jump and started to spin again. When it jumped up, Cheyenne caught a glimpse of a bare underside. Her eyes darted all around, trying to find something to help her. When she did, she barely had time to jump out of the way of the Grimm's attack.

Instead of striking her, it hit a light pole behind her. It growled and groaned, rolling around on its back for a second. Cheyenne took this to her advantage.

Wasting not time, she raised her rifle and narrowed her eyes at the beast's underbelly. She quickly fired several normal blast, let creature of darkness howling in pain each time before it went limp. With a smile on her face, she turned around to see two other Boarbatusks. Her smile quickly faded as she gave a very long sigh. "These things are going to be the death of me..."

Rather than fighting like she promised her team, Kagami was helping a group of people out of a half collapsed coffee shop. Glass completely littered the floor, broken chairs and tables scattered everyone. "Come on." The jade haired girl mumbled, lifting up a table with shaky knees as she held out her hand to a small boy. "We need to get out of here. You're mother is looking for you."

He gave a small whine, sinking deeper into the shadows. He softly shook his head no.

Sighing, Kagami slowly knelt down in front of him. "You're name is Bleue, right?" She held out her hand again. "Your mother is out in front ready to run away from all these monsters and sent me in here to come find you, alright? So come on. Everything will be fine."

Once again, the boy shook his head and wrapped his arms around himself.

She took a deep breath, shifting slightly as as she started to stand. She grimaced slightly before she shook her head and held out her hand once again. "Come on. I promise I'll protect you. And I promise I will get you to your mommy real quick too. I promise."

The child gulped, glancing out around the damaged coffee shop. He gulped once more before slowly crawling out and grabbing Kagami hand.

When he did so, the young girl noticed that his shoulder was bleeding. "Hold on." She slowly pulled her hand away, taking off the tie from her dance outfit. That night felt like so long ago. It probably was, but what did she know. She took the green fabric, gently wrapping it and tying it around the boys shoulder. "Alright." She grabbed his hand again, helping him out. "Let's go."

Once outside, Kagami lifted her head to the soft cry of a woman. A moment later, she watched the same woman rush over and pick up the small boy next to her. The boy's eyes immediately went wide, swelling up with tears as he started to cry. The woman held him close, patting his back as she turned to Kagami. "Thank you." She held him close. "Thank you so much."

She smiled back at the woman, nodding slowly. "It's nothing-" She stopped herself, eyes widening at the Ursa that spotted them. "Shoot." She muttered, pushing the mother and her son onward. "Go. Now."

The woman quickly nodded, running away as fast as she could while Kagami turned around to face the Ursa. "Okay... this may be bad." She muttered quietly, drawing her sword as she slowly stepped back.

The Grimm growled, its crimson eyes narrowing before it charged straight at her.

She quickly jumped out of the way, slashing at the monster as she did so. When her feet hit the ground, she stumbled back and winced at the pain in her knees. She groaned, shaking her head a bit as she looked back up. Her eyes immediately went wide at the large paw swinging through the air at her. She brought her sword up, blocking the claws from striking her but not able to keep her stance as she was flung backwards.

She hit a wall, grunting heavily as she lost the grip on her sword. She slowly rolled over, laying on her back with heavy breathing. She lifted her head, staring at the black beast charging at her. Her jaw tightened as she held up her arms and shut her eyes tight. Coming from the rings, a blast mist overtook the shape of a large shield just in time to block the Ursa's pounce.

Kagami grunted, her body being pushed down. The Grimm then pounced again. Another grunt came from Kagami, the black shield cracking ever so slightly. Her eyes widened before quickly shutting her eyes as the beast pounded onto the shield again, making her grunt more as larger cracks formed. She knew for a fact that the shield she made could only withstand one more strike before shattering like glass. Luckily, it didn't have to.

As the Ursa went to jump again, something slashed at its back leg and made it stumble away. With raised eyebrows, Kagami let her arms drop slowly, the black shield disappearing into nothing.

There was a loud battle cry coming from a woman just as the Grimm froze in place. Coming from its chest was the tip of a bloody blade. As it pulled out, the monster fell forward. Behind it stood someone Kagami never thought she would see again.

There, standing several meters from her was the same woman with orange hair she saw seveeal years ago.

With a sigh, Julia Caesar flipped her extremely long hair back and sheathed her sword at her side. She then started in Kagami's direction, cracking her knuckles covered in metal. "Are you-". She paused blinking a bit before her head tilted to the side. "You're... that girl from Vytal?" It came off as a question more than a statement.

Kagami blinked rapidly, slowly sitting up with a stunned look. The wave of Grimm was slowly dying down. "You're... that Captain."

Julia half smiled down at her, reaching out a hand to help her up. "Captain Caesar, at your service."

Grunting, she stumbled a bit as she regained her balance. She then quickly looked up with a faint gulp. "Thank you... for saving me... twice..." She slowly looked away as she spoke.

Not even phased, she shook her orange hair around before she crossed her arms. "I came here to assist Atlas with the Vytal Festival. I had no idea someone from Vytal would actually be here. Let alone you." She reached down, picking up Kagami's sword and handing it to you. "I'm hoping you know how to use this." She chuckled. "Because each time I have seen you, you've looked like trash."

"Okay, this time," Kagami took a deep breath, sheathing her weapon. "This wasn't completely my fault."

"Whatever you say." She rolled her eyes before she turned around. "I'll assume you know how to use that so, if you ever need anything, give me a call. I run a group of men and women in the Atlas army that specialize in swordsmanship. And trust me," She gave a reassuring glare. "They're not like him."

She simply nodded back to the Captain, not really knowing what else to say. She never thought in a million years she would see that woman again. She sighed, slowly turning around and walking away. "Captain Caesar." She gave a nod before sighing. "I owe you big time!"

"I'll hold you to that!" The woman called back, walking off in the other direction.

Back at where Kagami's locker was, team MACE was back together. As Elise was desperately searching Kagami for any extra wounds, Cheyenne softly knocked on the locker. "Hey Bushy," She quietly spoke. "It's us. All the Grimm are gone."

Slowly pushing up from the door of the locker, a brown puffy tail popped out as Bushy slowly stepped out herself. She gulped, holding tightly onto Elise's baton. "K-Kay..." She licked her lips a bit.

Giving a sigh, the deer Faunus looked back at her team. "Kagami, you and Elise head back to Beacon. Kris," She looked over at the red head. "Want to help me take Bushy to a friend's of mine?"

"Can you explain her first?" Elise glanced over at her. "I need some sort of explanation."

"Right." Cheyenne sighed, glancing at Bushy before back at her team. She then went to explaining the whole story from how she ran into Bushy, helped her clean the weapons and to how she snuck her out.

When sje was finished, Kris facepalmed amd softly shook her head. "I'm on a team with idiots."

Elise glanced at Kris before shrugging softly at Cheyenne. "I think she did the right thing. I mean, it seems like the right thing to do."

"Go on." Kagami lifted her head to say Cheyenne could go. She was halfway leaning on Elise. "Take her to your friend's. Don't worry about it. Just stay safe."

"Insane idiots." The short red head quietly muttered.

Cheyenne gave a smile, looking down at Bushy. "Come on." She smiled and held out her hand.

Bushy gulped, reaching up and grabbing the Faunus' hand tight. With her other hand, she held out the baton towards the brunet. "Here." She quietly spoke.

Elise smiled, nodding and she took her weapon back. She glanced over at Kagami, eyebrows raised. "You think you can make it back to school?"

Her leader rolled her eyes, smiling a bit. "Of course I can."

As the two started off, Kris sighed softly before she crossed her arms and looked up at Cheyenne. "So who's this friend?"

"Well, you see." She held Bushy's hand a bit tighter. "When I first ran away from the White Fang, I ended up in the woods and I killed an Alpha Beowolf for some armor." She glanced over at the red head. "I ended up finding this family who lived in the woods. They had this super sweet blonde daughter. I think I may have gotten her to want to become a Huntress." She softly chuckled, rubbing the back of her head. "She kinda wants to change the world now or at least save some people."

"And... they'll take care of me?" Bushy looked up, gulping a bit.

Cheyenne looked down, nodding. "Yep. They took me in really quick just because I was starving. They'll love to take you in. Trust me. I think their girl is around your age too." She smiled.

With a nod, the squirrel Faunus looked down. She then gave a small smile. "You think I could help the world out too one day?"

"Of course you can." She squeezed her hand tight. "I'm sure you and their daughter will become great friends and do amazing things for the world. I bet my life on it."

"That's cool." Bushy smiled a bit more, watching her feet.

"You're really good with smaller children." Kris crossed her arms, watching the smaller girl.

"Yeah, I guess." Cheyenne smiled with a shrug, looking over. "I just want to make things better for her. You know, give her the life she deserves."

"You'll make a great mother." The red head quietly said, her head lowering a bit. "You'll make a really amazing mother." Though she tried to hide it, there was a small hint of sadness in her voice.

Cheyenne sighed softly, looking ahead as the sun started to set in the distance. "We should make it there before it's dark. They don't live that far off. They're actually really close to the city." She glanced down at Bushy. "You'll like them. I promise."


	32. Cracks In The Foundation

Straddling a chair on the side of the lowest bed, Elise had her arms resting on the back as she pressed her chin into her arms. She was staring at the bed in front of her with concerned and narrowed eyes. While growing up on her family farm, she never had the stress or fear of having someone close to her being hurt. With having what happened to Kagami, her mind was running around in a million places at once. Her heart was still beating rapidly.

On the bed in front of her, Kagami was completely out cold. With an arm over her chest, her other was laying straight by her side. She was snoring loud, loud enough to wake a herd of Grimm even. While underneath the thick blanket ontop of her, she was wearing a pair of Elise's comaflauge sweatpants, her neo orange whool hunting socks and as always, Kagami's signature dark green hoodie.

Aside from a few bruises here and there and a small cut on her upper left side of her lip, she was fine from the waist up. There was no broken bones and no fractures, there wasn't even a heavy gash anywhere on her body. The only problem though, was her knees.

Bruised and swollen, Elise could even feel how tight the muscles in the back of her team leader's knees were. She had them checked, once again and thankfully, there was no broken bones or fractures either on Kagami's kneecaps.

Elise took a deep breath, hearing the door handle turn open. She leaned back some, lifting her head up in the direction of the door. "Took you guys long enough." She muttered in a hushed tone. "And be quiet. She's out like a light."

"'Out like a light', what does that even mean?" Kris raised her eyebrows, walking in with her hands in her pockets and Cheyenne behind her. "You know," She shook her head some, looking down at the ground. "I won't argue right now."

"Good call." Cheyenne's voice was much lower than usual as she walked up next to Elise and looked over at Kagami with worry. "How's she doing? What the nurse say?"

Elise gave a faint smirk, leaning back down ontop of her arms. "Like I would take her to a place where the inject her with who knows what. She's from Vytal so her body probably isn't use to any of the medicines Kingdoms have created. She's lucky I was taught to use what nature provides to help her." She pointed over fo a desk which had a tea brewer with steam coming from it setting on it. "I found some herbs and started making a tea with them for when she wakes up."

Giving a slow nod, the Faunus let out a yawn and stretched her arms. "I don't blame her. I'm pretty tired myself. It's been... a really long day and its probably been longer for her."

"I think I'll hit the hay too." Kris muttered, suddenly laying on the bed above Kagami. As Cheyenne rapidly blinked and looked around for how Kris got up there, the red head rolled around a bit to get comfortable under her blanket. "You should sleep as well, Elise."

The brunet glanced up for a moment, lifting her head ever so slightly before sighing and lowering it back down to watch Kagami. "I will. Don't worry."

"You know," Cheyenne reached over, placing a hand on Elise's shoulder. "There is no point in draining yourself. We're all mortal here and we all need rest. She'll be fine."

"I know, but-" The young farm girl was cut off.

"No buts." She pulled her arm away and crossed her arms. "You need your rest just as much as Kagami. You know if she was awake she would yell at you for not sleeping."

There was a small moment of silence between the two before Elise finally sighed deeply and stood up. "You know, it would have probably been easier if I just shot you the first day." She gave a small smile, yawning as she moved her arms around.

Cheyenne smiled back, rolling her eyes. "You're an awful shot anyway. Probably would have missed if I didn't use my semblance."

"Aw, can it!" The brunet grumbled, climbing up to the third bed. "And you have to climb all the way up. Try not to hit your head."

Smiling just a bit more as she started to climb up, she chuckled softly. "You mean like you did?"

With a soft groan, she rolled over and hid underneath a blanket. "Wake me up when the sun sets. Or whenever Kagami wakes up."

"If any of us are awake, we will. Right, Kris?" The deer Faunus glanced down as she rolled into bed. When the response was simply soft snoring, from the three people below her, she gave off a small laugh and rolled up into her blanket. "Night. Or morning. I'm not sure." she gave off another yawn, shutting her eyes.

This team may not be perfect, in fact, it was a far cry from it, but this team was something else. It definitely wasn't the family Cheyenne always dreamed about, but it was a family she would not trade for the world. Her blood family was gone, at least half of it anyway, but now she had another family, one created by an unbreakable foundation of loyalty and trust. This team, team MACE, this academy and everything was her new home. It wasn't perfect, but she loved it none the less. So she smiled, slowly drifting off into some well needed rest.

Kagami opened her eyes to find herself shrouded in darkness. She turned around, looking all over only to see an endless blackness sweeping across in all directions. When she glanced down at her feet, she lifted them and moved around, only to realize she couldn't even see what she was stepping on.

"What... the..." She spoke softly, her voice echoing all around like she was inside a cave. This made her head snap in every direction,whether it was up or down or left to right. The words she spoke just kept coming back until they were hushed up and swallowed by the darkness as well.

She took a deep breath, pushing her chest outward as she looked around. Even though there was total blackness around her, part of her was still trying to see some sort of color in the abyss filled with nothing.

Just then though, as her mind started to wander far off, there was a distant voice, at the moment inaudible, slowly creeping up from every direction around her.

Kagani raised her eyesbrows, her heart starting to thump a little louder. "Hello?" She asked, taking a step forward. Though, when she did, she took a step to the right. The voice still seemed like it was coming from the exact same spot though.

"Hello?" She called out again, this time freezing in place as she looked around. The voice, even though she still could not make it out yet, was getting loudercwith each passing second and now sounded more like mumbling.

Taking a deep breath, the young girl repeated herself once more. "Hello?" This time, her voice came off more demanding. She gritted her teeth, hands turning into fist. "Show yourself." She pushed a single foot forward. "Right now."

The second the voice became clear, Kagami immediately regretted the decision to demand for it. It did not even take her more than a second to recognize the demonic voice. She would never forget it. Right now, that voice was permanently etched into her brain with gold.

"You..." She trailed off, taking several steps back even though it did not help at all. With her heartbeat sounding off like drums inside her ears, she gulped as her hands started to tremble.

"What's wrong?" The female voice of her captor echoed, making Kagami go stiff. "You're not going to escape. There is no way out." There was a second of silence followed by chuckling.

Kagami suddenly felt something strike her back. She stumbled forward, her head whipping around only to see complete darkness behind her. She gritted her teeth, her head turning around as fast as she could to try and catch of glimpse of something, of anything really. "Only cowards fight when the other is blind!" She snapped.

"Only the strong live and only the weak... die!" The beginning of the sentence started off hushed, the last word sounding off like a gun shot. It was enough to make Kagami jump, jerking herself all around.

A second later, Kagami quickly sat up in her bed with very heavy breathing. She felt sweat dripping down the side of her face. After a few deep breaths, she groaned and laid back down onto the bed. She stared up at the bed above her before she softly sighed and shut her eyes.

"It's... just a dream..." She slowly reached up, rubbing her face a bit. She shook her head some before groaning as her arms fell down to her side. "Just a dream..." She took a deep breath, her nose twitching just a bit. She opened her eyes, blinking just a bit. She slowly braced her palms on the mattress, pushing herself to sit up some. She inhaled as deep as she could, smelling the fumes of something overcome her. "That smells like..." She sniffed the air once more, her head snapping towards the desk that had a tea maker on it. "...tea." She gave a soft smile, staring at it for several seconds before she started to move.

Just as the dusk of the day started to set in, Elise shifted around ever so slightly in her bed. She rolled over onto her other side, yawning as she began to curl up once more. She then groaned, clearly uncomfortable in her position. She rolled over in the same direction, her eyes snapping open as she felt nothing below her. She didn't have time to say a single word, instead there was a yelp followed by thud and a groan.

"You fell."

Elise groaned softly at the voice, slowly sitting up as the blanket around her fell down to the floor. "Shut up..." She reached up, rubbing her face. Her head then snapped upward, her mind finally processing who had just spoke. "Kagami!"

Looking back, the jade haired girl gave a soft smile while holding a small white cup which had steam rising from the top. "Elise." Her eyebrows quickly raised before lowering.

"You're awake!" The brunet shot to her feet and she scrambled forward.

Softly chuckling, she shook her head. "And so are you."

Rolling her eyes, Elise pulled up a chair next to her leader and sat down. "Not the point." She leaned back a bit, taking a deep breath before she crossed her arms. "How's the tea?"

"It's really good." She nodded softly back, bringing the cup close to her face as she inahled the fumes. "It was cold when I found it so I had to heat it back up. Other than that, it is really good." She brought the rim of the cup to her lips, taking a small sip. "It's a lot like the healing tea my mom would make for me. It may be exactly the same..."

"Well I'm happy to help." The farm girl sat back with a smile. "Mama use to make this tea for me when papa would get a nasty cut while working. It's suppose to push out all the toxins in your body and numb pain and speed up your body's healing process."

Kagami slowly nodded, eyes narrowing ever so slightly at the cup of tea. "My mom use to say the same exact thing..." She blinked a few times before shaking her head slightly. "You know," She turned to look at her teammate. "I bet our mothers would get along pretty well. They have a lot in common."

"I wouldn't suggest that." Elise gave a faint chuckle, reaching up and rubbing the back of her head. "Mama is pretty insane. She's... very controlling and needs everything in order. If there is so much as a cup out of place in our shelves at home, she loses her mind and with lecture papa for hours. It's insane. She is insane."

She gave a soft laugh back, slowly nodding. "My mom is realy laid back and calm. I wasn't the best at doing chores when I was younger but she was always calm and helped me along. I remember this one time I had to go and brush off some snow from the top of our house because it was getting heavy which could mean our roof would collapse." She chuckled a bit. "While I was cleaning it off I slipped and fell and she caught me. She simply smiled at me and helped me clean the rest of it all off. I can't lie though," She set the cup down, rubbing the back of her head. "I almost slipped and fell at least ten more times after that. I had zero balance as a kid."

Elise could not help but softly laugh as she leaned onto the desk. "When I was little, I decided to jump in a pond and kill this duck with my bare hands." She started to laugh a little more. "I came back home soaking wet and covered in mud. Papa couldn't have been more proud thiugh, we had roasted duck for dinner, but mama went insane. I apparently tracked mud up and down the front porch which she had cleaned earlier."

Kagami shook her head softly, looking over at her. "Mothers are crazy."

"I fully agree with you on that." Elise smiled, pausing for a second. It then slowly started to fade as she leaned more onto the table. "I know it hasn't been long, but how do you feel?"

She took a deep breath, looking down at the cup of tea. She slowly reached out, grabbing the warm glass with both hands. "I still ache all over. Expecially my torso and..." She trailed off, looking down at her legs. She gave a sigh, bringing the tea up to her mouth as she took a sip and shut her eyes.

"That bad, huh?" The brunet gulped ever so slightly.

She simply gave a small shrug back. "It's not bad, not super bad at least. They're just sore and it makes it a little more difficult to walk. I think I was stumbling at first when I stood up. But, you," She looked over with a smile. "I think I have enough time to heal up before the tournament."

"Wait..." She blinked a few times, eyebrows raising. "You still want to compete? Are you insane!"

Kagami shrugged, taking another sip. "I can at least fight one round. I'm sure I. The double rounds though, if we win, you and Kris should move on. If we win that, I guess you should move onto the singles."

"Wait..." Elise trailed off again. "You think I am the strongest of our team?" Her eyebrows raised as she burst into laughter. "That's funny! Really funny!" She reached up and rubbed her eyes, shaking her head softly. "That's no where near true!"

"Yeah it is." She gave a nod. "You're definitely the strongest of us."

She simply shook her head more, looking up at hear leader. "Kagami," She gave a smile. "You're for sure the strongest of us. Trust me. Alright? Trust me." She smiled a bit more.

"I-" Kagami started and then was cut off by a finger on her lips.

"No arguing." Elise slowly pulled her hand down. "Just trust me."

She gave a sigh, letting her shoulders drop down. "Fine. Fine." She gave a slow nod. "Fine."

"Good." The brunet smiled, leaning back.

She rolled her eyes, taking a deep breath as she pulled her cup of tea back to her mouth. "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, insanity wise..." She mumbled into her tea cup before taking a sip.

"What?" Elise's head lifted up as she blinked.

"Nothing." She muttered, taking another sip. "Nothing at all."

Several days later, after the breach on Vale City, Kagami was panting softly while in the sparring room. She held her sword up high, hands clutching it tight. In front of her, Kris was smiling and panting just as much as Kagami. The red head was holding both her canes by her sides as she shifted her weight around.

"Hey..." Kagami spun her blade around, taking a few steps. Underneath her shorts were bandages wrapped around her knees to keep them more stable. "Are you sure we're aloud to be in here when it's after hours?"

Kris shrugged, twirling her weapons. "Like I care. If we get caught, we get caught." She flashed an epic smile, readying herself. "Or are you afraid of being caught?"

"Please." She rolled her eyes, suddenly bolting forward towards her teammate. "You'll kick my butt before I become afraid of being caught! Rules were made for a reason!"

Grinning more to herself, the red head bolted forward. "And that reason is because they were meant to be broken!" She jumped up, raising her arms above her head. As she came downward, she drove her weapons downward.

Kagami gave a soft chuckle, skidding to a stop. She brought her blade up, blocking the duel canes with a smile. "You've done this one twice already." She pushed upward, launching Kris up a bit. "You need mkre moves! You're becoming predictable!" She jumped up herself, back flipping before she drove her heels towards her.

Kris grunted, barely having enough time to bring up her weapons to block Kagami's feet. She flew back and once she hit the ground, she nearly crossed over the out of bounce line. The only reason she didn't pass the boundary was because she kept her heels up.

"Yeah, I know." The red head smiled. "I was hoping you would catch on so I could do this." She held up the cane in her right hand, grinning. The top of it was off as the chain in it slide out like a snake.

Kagami blinked once, trailing down the chain until it stopped and wrapped around her ankle. "Shoot." She muttered and looked up.

"I won't throw you if you surrender to me now." Kris grinned, readying herself to pull as hard as she could. "I will send you flying."

She bit her lip, eyes narrowing. She the eased up, twirling her sword. "Do it. I dare you."

Groaning, she stood up and took several steps forward before pulling back. Kagami's leg lifted up, sending her flying straight towards the red head. Kagami chuckled, suddenly tossing her blade straight into the floor. It rang through the air and as she passed it, she caught the chain on the edge of it.

"Hell!" Kris shouted, suddenly being jerked forward. She gritted her teeth, growling softly as her leader passed by her. She simply growled more as she saluted her.

Kagami rolled a bit as she hit the ground, grunting slightly. She quickly reached down to her foot, grabbing the chain and jerking Kris in the other direction. Ignoring the small girl's screams, Kagami quickly untied her ankle from the chain's grasp. Her eyes then widened as she laied flat on her back, the red head flying straight above her. She chuckled, standing up as she started to walked towards her sword. "I think you're out of bounce!" She called out, just as Kris struck the boundary wall.

There was a soft groan coming from Kris as she slowly stood up. She rubbed her head, drawing the top of her weapon to the main part of it. "Okay. I quit." She muttered, putting her weapons away.

"Aw, come on." She chuckled, sheathing her sword as she started to walk back towards Kris. "I'm still crippled. Don't you think you should beat me?"

"Shut up!" She snapped, quickly turning on her heels as the two started to walk out. She then gave a sigh, looking up at her leader. "But you are getting better. The first round of the tournament is totally in the bag."

"We can't get cocky though." Kagami gently nudge her. "If we do we'll lose. We still need to remember there are people stronger than us."

"No kidding." The red head sighed, looking down. "There is a lot more people stronger than us."

"Yeah..." She gave a sigh, glancing up before she shook her head and looked forward again.

Back in the MACE dorm room, Cheyenne had her eyebrows raised as she watched Elise use a screwdriver on some pieces of wood. "What... are you even doing?"

"Something that will help us with the tournament." The farm girl mumbled. She set the screwdriver down and picked up what she was working on. At the moment, it was nothing more than a fully functional arm. She tossed it onto a pile of wooden limbs and a torso before she picked up a block of wood and turned around to face Cheyenne.

"It looks like you're making yourself a boyfriend." The Faunus said, crossing her arms.

Elise flinched at the words, grimacing ever so slightly. "I don't need to make a boyfriend. I can go get anyone I want. This is for Kris, just don't tell her."

"So you are making Kris a boyfriend." She slowly nodded. "I don't think she will like it."

"It's not a boyfriend!" The brunet shot to her feet, waving her arms around. She quickly tossed the block of wood on the pile and covered it with a blanket when she heard the door opening.

"Why are we yelling this time?" Kagami sighed, shaking her head softly as she stepped inside with Kris behind her. "I was gone for like two seconds."

Kris suddenly popped up behind her, holding up a finger. "It was actually about an hour and a half."

The jade haired girl groaned softly before she started to walk towards their set of beds. "Same thing." She glanced out the window, staring at the broken moon and stars shining in the night. "It's getting late. We should get our rest." She turned around to face her team with a smile. "We have a big day tomorrow. The tournament won't win itself."

"I agree with this." Kris grinned. "I'll always vote on going to bed early." Before anyone else could say anything, she was suddenly underneath the blankets of the bottom bed. "Good niiight~!" She smiled, rolling over.

Elise rolled her eyes, looking over at the wood pile covered with a blanket. "You guys go ahead and sleep. I have something I need to finish."

Kagami softly chuckled, climbing up to the top bed. "Alright, alright. Hurry up and finish whayever you are doing and get to sleep." She crawled into her bed, smiling a little. She knew exactly what Elise was making for Kris and it was going to be awesome. She yawned, faceplanting into her pillow as she shifted around to get comfortable.

That's when it happened.

"Don't try her." Cheyenne chuckled softly, looking down at Elise with crossed arms. "Kagami may very much throw you out the window if you don't sleep."

Kagami didn't even hear anymore of the conversation. Her eyes were wide as she stared at the wall next to her bed. She gulped, slowly moving her head to look down at Cheyenne and Elise. She quickly looked away and went back to staring at the wall.

 _'Don't try her.'_

She remembered those words clearly from the night she was saved from her team. The woman who had kidnapped her, her daughter, the mole in the school, had said exactly that. And now, so did Cheyenne. It sounded exactly the same. Exact same tone and exact same voice.

Kagami gulped, eyes wide as she stared at the wall and slwoly curled up in her bed. It would make so much sense. This was why that woman's daughter did not want her dead and instead wanted her to be set free. Not to mention there was probably no time between Elise rescuing her and the conversation they had. Cheyenne had to be her kidnapper's daughter and the mole in Beacon. She had been apart of the White Fang too. There was no doubt about it. Her teammate, her friend was the one behind all of this. But who in all of Remnant could she tell?

She gulped once more, squeezing her eyes shut tight as the main lights were turned out. There was still that voice though. That voice and the feeling of betrayal.

 _'Don't try her.'_


	33. Old Friends

In Beacon's dinning hall, Elise was stuffing her face with everything she could get a hold of. "Can't believe it guys!" She chomped down on a chicken leg, tearing off a piece of meat. "Tomorrow is the first day of the tournament and our first match!" She tossed the bone, which was no plucked clean, to the side before she reached forward and grabbed a large steak. "Who do you think we're going go fight?! I can't wait to see which suckers get to fall at our hands!" She pushed as much of the meat into her mouth as she could before she bit down and started to chew.

"She can..." Prac blinked several tines, staring over at the young farm girl.

Fid simply nodded his head, his eyes not leaving the brunet. "...eat..."

"...a lot." Fif was staring. He glanced down at his tray of food before looking back up at Elise's. She had well over triple of what he was eating.

"Yeah," Cheyenne leaned on her head, poking at a few grapes on her plate with a fork. "When she gets really excited she eats like a mad man."

"Well she did say her father was huge." Kris mumbled with a mouthful of bread, lettuce, tomato, cheese and tofu bacon in her mouth. "I'm sure she had to inherit something from him. I guess his appetite was one of them." She gave a small shrug before taking another bite of her sandwich.

"That's still an insane amount of food. She is eating just as much as those three." Maya said, fixing her beanie before pointing at the Varken brothers. "And they eat a lot."

"You guys didn't answer my question!" The brunet flailed her arms around before she picked up a large chunk of turkey breast. "Who do you think we are going to fight!?"

"Wouldn't it be funny if both our teams ended up fighting each other?" Kagami slowly looked up from her bowl of spicy chicken stew.

Elise blinked once, waving her hand at her leader. "Naaaw, that won't happen."

"Technically," Cheyenne looked over. "It could. There are only thirty-two teams, including us. So there is a one in thirty-one chance that we would face them. That's really only like a..." she trailed off, counting on her fingers for a second before she looked back up. "Only about a three percent chance of it happening."

"You... did that in your head?" Kris blinked several times, eyebrows raised.

"Uh... yeah?" The Faunus raised an eyebrow at the redhead.

Maya shook her head a bit before smiling as she leaned back. "You know, you're really smart."

She simply shrugged back. "It's... not much." She lifted a hand, brushing some of her hair behind her ear.

As the two sisters went on, Elise blinked some while eating a hamburger at least the size of her head. "Hey," She gently kicked Kagami under the table. "You alright?" She raised an eyebrow.

The jade haired girl glanced up from her bowl before she shrugged back. "Just a little tired I guess."

"Tired huh?" She took a giant bite. "You're being a lot more quiet than usual. What's up?"

Kagami gulped softly, looking down. She took a deep breath, shaking her head softly. "I'm fine. Don't worry."

Giving a sigh back, the brunet went back to devouring her extremly large meal. She knew something was bothering her leader, but she wasn't going to pry just yet. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, she knew Kagami needed time to get over what had happened. If she would ever get over it that is.

On the outside of the school building, in the main courtyard, a woman with darkened baby blue hair was walking up towards the academy. Her hair was flat yet uneven and clearly hadn't been combed in months, probably not washed in months either. She kept her head low, eyes shut as she walked onward. Her hands were resting inside her torn blue jean pockets, wrist half covered by the light blue hoodie tied around her waist. She had a plaid blue shirt on, not seeming to mind how it was clearly to large for his skinny body and flat chest. The shoulder of the shirt was hanging on her left shoulder, showing a black bra strap underneath. Though all the buttons to her top were not together, she had a blue scarf wrapped around her neck to stop from showing her chest and a long necklace with a panda pendant on it ontop of it. Her gray boots with a fuzzy rim clicked with each step she took. Even with her pale skin, there seemed to be something about her that drew men's eyes all across her.

Hearing a whistle come from behind her, she paused inher steps. She inhaled deeply, turning around. Her eyes, the same shade as her hair, quickly narrowed at a man with tanned skin in a gray shirt. "Is there a problem?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nothing at all." He moved his hands behind his head. "Just admiring the veiw Beacon."

She took a deep breath, lowering her head down ever so slightly. She reached up, swinging a brown backpack with straps around so she could reach inside it. "You know," She pulled out a pair of red glasses, sliding them on. "If I was younger," She hen took out a paint brush, twirling it in her fingers. "I'd be at your feet having fun." She looked up at him, the panda pendant swinging just a bit. "But that's not me anymore." She pulled out a painter's pallete before dropping her backpack. Each color on the pallete was different types of Dust. She dabbed the brush into a red one, taking a deep breath.

"Oh shoot." The man's eyebrow twitched a bit.

The woman raised her left hand which was holding the paint brush. "Don't even try to flirt with me." She spat out before she started to paint a circular bomb in mid air with Dust. Once it was done, she jumped up and kicked it straight towards the man.

"Shoot shoot shoot!" He stumbled away, eyes wide. An explosion went off just a few centimeters from his feet. There was a shockwave which sent him stumbling away.

"Miss Pastell!" A voice this woman could never forgot rang through the air. She yelped, stumbling with ever step she took. She half threw her stuff back into her bag, pulling the straps tight before she jumped up to her feet and threw it over her shoulder. "No way! You STILL work here!" She gulped, staring back at Ozpin's second.

With narrowed eyes, Glynda was glaring with arms crossed. She took a deep breath, rolling her eyes before she turned on her heels and started to walk off. "Of course you would show up for the tournament."

"Hey!" The girl in blue quickly started catch up to the blonde. "We won the Vytal tournament two times in a row! That's as good as anyone can do! I'm not going to miss a match! Never have and never will!"

"I see that, but please," She turned her head to look back. "Try not to harm anyone." She faced forward once again. "Also, Professor Ozpin wishes to see you. He wants to know how you are doing."

"I've actually had some fun!" She skipped in front of her. "There is this little town of Shion that I was hanging out at for a while and they were so nice there! I even got rid of some of their Grimm issues for them!"

Taking a deep breath, Glynda held out her hand. "Aero."

She flinched at her first name. Glynda only called her by her first name when she was about to strangle her to death. That had happened way too many times as a student here. "Yes?" She half gulped even though she was now an adult.

The blonde's crossed arms slowly fell down to her sides. She shook her head softly. "Ozpin will be very pleased to know you have arrived. Try not to keep him waiting."

Aero smiled, giving a nod before she spun on her heels. "I still know where his office is! I'll go to him straight away!"

Glynda went to speak but instead shook her head some more, watching the full fledged Huntress run off.

As team MACE started to walk back to their dorm, just as they were a few doors down from theirs, a pair of hands suddenly reached out and snatched Kris by the shoulders. She yelped, her eyes wide. Cheyenne, Elise and Kagami all blinked, slowly looking around the corner to see what in the name of Remnant had just happened. The three all quickly flinched, Kris screaming as high pitched as she could.

"Agh..." Elise twisted her pinky finger around in her ear. "What the hell?" She raised an eyebrow, looking up.

"It's Perrywinkle!" The redhead screeched, jumping up and down. She quickly pointed up at the bald man in a tux with a blue tie.

He gave a nod, smiling at the three other girls. "Hello there."

"Hi." Cheyenne lifted a hand, waving ever so slightly.

Elise put two fingers to hsr forehead, saluting him. "Howdy."

"Hey." Kagami moved her hand to the side once before lowering it back down.

"It's been so long since I've seen you!" Kris quickly wrapped her arms around him.

"Does... she seem a little too happy?" Elise raised an eyebrow, the two others on her team nodding.

"Yes, yes." Perrywinkle reached down, patting her head softly. "I've missed you too. You're mother is rather bossy. I very much prefer you over her."

The red head chuckled softly, slowly letting go of him before she crossed her arms. "Oh I know that first hand. But... why are you even here?"

He glanced around a bit before softly sighing. "Listen, Kris," He took a deep breath. "You're mother is... here... at the moment. She's here to take you home. I've come to accompany her but I thought I might as well as give you a fair warning. She says she wants this nonsense to end." He rolled his eyes before smiling down at her. "But you seem to be happy here, so I wouldn't mind having you stay for longer. Maybe three years longer."

Kris' entire expression changed, her head slowly lowering down. "Of course mother would show up... she always has to show up when things are looking up for me..." She took a very deep breath, wrapping her arms around herself. "It always happens..."

Kagami blinked once, eyes narrowing a bit. She quickly walked between the two, heading straight for her dorm room.

"Wait," Cheyenne raised her eyebrows. "What are you doing?"

She looked back, sticking her hands in her oodie pocket. "I'm going to go yell at someone."

"What?" Elise, Cheyenne and Perrywinkle all said at the same time.

Kris' face paled a bit as her brows slowly lifted up. "You're... insane..." Was all Kris mumbled, her voice lower than every. She had always talked back to her mother, but thinking of someone else doing it was insane.

Up in Ozpin's gear filled office, the headmaster of Beacon was sitting at his desk and sipping from a cup of hot chocolate and staring out the window. He took a deep breath, sighing into his drink. His head then perked up, hearing the doors to his office open. He gave a smile, turning around. "Aero."

"Ozpiiiiin!" The woman with blue hair jumped inside the room, skidding to a stop in front of his desk before jumping ontop of his desk to sit down. "S'up." She nudge her head upward a bit.

He smiled a bit more, setting his drink down where she wouldn't knock it over. He folded his hands together, leaning back in his chair. "I see you haven't changed much. How is your right shoulder holding up?"

"Eh, still feels the same as usual." She moved her right arm around a bit, stretching out her shoulder. "It still gets stiff from time to time. Even though it was like a million years ago, shattering every single bone in your shoulder takes a toll." She gave a sigh, resting her hands in her lap. "You look as stressed as usual too."

He smiled back at her, taking a deep breath before nodding. "You know running an academy is rather tiring. Expecially for an old man."

"Please," She waved a hand towards him with a grin. "There is no way you are a day over twenty."

"And you're clearly still not a day over eight at heart." He leaned forward a bit before leaning back again. He glanced out the window, looking out at the city before looking back at her. "Have you found any of the bandit group yet?" The tone in his voice went serious.

She slowly shook her head, glancing down. "Not yet. I can't find either of the two either. Both of them just vanished off the face of the earth. I can find tracks of the bandits but..." She sighed. "I can even find small groups that spread off from them... but I can't find the main group."

He gave a nod, leaning forward. He placed a hand on her shin, smiling ever so slightly. "You should go rest up. The tournament is tomorrow and you're in for a world of surprises later on. Trust me."

"Surprises?" Her eyebrows raised up before narrowing. "Oh Lord Oum... and oh Dark Oum..." Her head drop down. "I had it when you say surprises. Why can't you just tell me for once." She pouted, sliding off the desk to lay onto the floor.

He gave a smile, picking up his hot chocolate again. "Aero."

"Hmm?" The woman sat up, blinking a bit.

"Remember what... she... use to say about those two decadents meeting?" He brought his mug towards his mouth.

"Yeah." She slowly nodded. There was a moment of silence before the gears above clicked. Aero blinked a few times, her eyes going wide. She then pointed down towards the floor. "Here?"

He gave a nod. "Try not to scare them. Please."

She was quiet, slowly nodding. She then flashed a smile, slowly climbing back up onto the desk. "You want to hear more stories? I've been all the way to Menagerie. I stayed there for a good while. They loved me there. All those Faunus were pretty cool too." She started to ramble on and on about the adventures she had since her last meeting with Ozpin, smiling as wide as she could the entire time.

In front of the MACE dorm room, Kagami had her eyes narrowed. She quickly pushed open the door, heading straight inside.

"Oh my..." Elise mumbled, peeking her head inside the opening of the door. The rest ofvher team followed along with Perrywinkle.

Kagami kept her hands in her hoodie pocket, eyes narrowed at the woman sitting on the lower bed with two butlers at her side.

"So I'm assuming your Kris' mother?" Kagami spoke, keeping her voice in a neutral state.

Her head tilted to the side, her blonde hair flowing softly and bouncing with light golden curls. "I am the mother of Christm-" She was cut off.

"I'll stop you right there." The jade haired girl held out a hand. "She likes to be called Kris. And secondly," She stuck her hand back into her pocket. "I have heard several upon several stories anout you, and all of them are completely awful. You don't even deserve the title of a mother. A mother is suppose to protect her daughter as well as she can. All you do is sit back and pay people to take care of her. When was the last time you gave her soup you made while she was sick in bed? Wait, let me guess, never? But you know, I bet one of these men in uniform have given her soup when she was sick. You are clouded by greed and lien to even realize how unlike you your daughter is. How stupid to you have to be to not get that she doesn't want fo follow in the footsteps of some overdressed Huntress? You say you are a great warrior but you fight with your daughter more than you fight actual Grimm. You call her disrespectful, well what about you? You don't even care to acknowledge the fact she doesn't approve of killing an aninal for food and stuff your fat face every meal and force her to watch. You call her ignorant? You sit around all day twiddling your thumbs around while ignoring the fact she is trying to get your attention! You are the only mother she has and you're doing an awful job at it! You're nothing but a worthless rich person sitting around all day while your only daughter is just looking for your affection and love! That's all children ever want! I know that being a mother isn't the easiest, and that sometimes mothers have to make really difficult decisions, but you just make plan and stupid decision for her! She. Is. Not. You. You cannot control her! You cannot love your life through her just because you didn't get to do something as a child all while ignoring her!"

When she finished, she took a deep breath, letting her shoulders drop down some. Glenis went to speak, only go be hushed by Kagami once again. "No. You don't get to speak. This is MY dorm room and MY team. And right now, I want you out." She pointed towards the door. "You say your daughter is arrogant and disrespectful, seems to me like you haven't looked in the mirror lately."

The blonde woman blinked a few times, slowly standing up. "Do you have any idea who you are talking to?"

The jade haired girl flashed a smile, her shoulders rolling back. "I know exactly who I am talking to. I'm talking to the most bitchiest bitch of them all."

Glenis' face shot a deep shade of red as her eyes narrowed. Her mouth opened, about to speak, but was stopped once again.

"Get out." Kagami repeated, pointing at the door. "This is my dorm. Now get out."

"Why you disrespectful..." She trailed off, growling softly.

"Out." She demanded.

She gave off a snarl, snapping her fingers as the two butlers behind her followed. She stepped out the dorm, walking past the three girls and Perrywinkle. Her eyes locked with Kris. "You won't have a disrespectful brat like that always here. And you should warn her." Her eyes narrowed. "I could buy and sell her." Her head snapped away, her hair moving around her face as her heels tapped against the ground. "Perrywinkle!"

The man flinched, glancing down at Kris. "You've made some great friends." He mumbled before rushing off. "Coming, ma'am!"

Kris blinked a few times, slowly looking inside the dorm room at Kagami. "Holy shit." Was all she could find herself to say.

Kagami blinked a few times, looking back. She gently rubbed the back of her head with raised eyebrows. "Was... I too harsh on her?"

Elise smiled, walking up next to her leader and patting her back. "Couldn't have said it better myself." She smiled a little more as Kagami returned the smile.

Cheyenne crossed her arms, slowly nodding as she looked down at Kris. "Sooo... that was your mom?"

"Yep." The red head nodded, her eyes still wide at Kagami.

The Faunus slowly nodded more, glancing out the door before back down at Kris with a sigh. "Well, that definitely explains your attitude when we first met." She sighed once more, placing her arm across the young girl's shoulders. "We got your back though. You don't have to worry. There is no way we'll let you go back with her."

Kris smiled softly, looking up at Cheyenne before leaning into her a bit. "Thanks, Chey."

"No problem, Christmas." Cheyenne smiled, rubbing her shoulder softly.


	34. Chance

The morning of the first rounds of the Vytal Festival Tournament, Kris and Cheyenne were off getting their weapons ready while Kagami was taking a shower. Elise, with her rifle on her back and ready for the match, was glaring at the door to the bathroom. It was bothering on how her leader was acting different. Something was greatly distressing her, yet she would not speak about. Elise hated that.

"Come on..." She rested her elbows on her thighs, hands holding under her chin as she narrowed her eyes. "I know there is something bothering you, you stupid head." She grumbled. After a moment, she leaned backwards and sighed deeply. Her head trailed upward, towards the top mattress in their stack of beds. "You know, if you won't tell me, I guess I could figure it out myself."

She quickly glanced around, making sure no one was looking, checking the bathroom door several times before she started to climb up the stack of beds.

Once ontop, she slowly slid her hand underneath the pillow, pulling out Kagami's book. She ran her finger across the green leather, glancing once more at the bathroom door. She could still hear water running.

Elise took a deep breath, looking back down at the book. There was a rule Kagami set into place when she wanted to read her writings: she could not read it alone. Rules were meant to be broken in times of importance though.

"Okay, better make this quick." She mumbled to herself, quickly opening the book and flipping through the old pages to find the last one with words on it. "Here we go." She softly smiled, putting a finger on the first word as she started to read. She needed to know what was bothering Kagami, even if that meant breaking the one rule she was told to follow.

 _Who would have even thought_

 _That the friends I've long sought_

 _Would be the sole reason_

 _I'm losing faith in those named Eason_

 _From one committing treason_

 _Betrayal is a mind bending thing_

 _That leaves an everylasting sting_

 _Of pain and disappointment_

 _While I lose all enjoyment_

 _Who could I even tell_

 _Of this wicked spell_

 _That leaves me so empty_

 _And brings forth insanity_

 _Betrayal came with what she had to say_

 _To let them kidnap and take me away_

 _Yet still I cannot comprehend_

 _That someone I called my friend_

 _That someone on my team_

 _Is working with the enemy_

Elise stared at the page for several seconds before she slowly leaned back a bit. she couldn't even think of any words to say. Her mind was even blank. Of course, she knew it had to do with the time Kagami was taken, but she did not know why. No wonder she had been so distant and quiet, someone here had been the reason for her capture and she was probably afeaid of one of them calling her crazy for saying someone at this shool had done something like this. She probably thought that Ozpin wouldn't even believe her.

Taking a deep breath, she quickly slammed the book shut and shoved it back underneath the pillow before jumping off the bed and back down onto the ground. She stood back up, pacing back and forth across the floor with her arms crossed.

"Who could it have been..." She trailed off, whispering to herself. It took her a minute of pacing before she froze in place, her head snapping upward. "...Kris..." She mumbled so silently that she could barely hear herself speak. She knew she hadn't done it, and Cheyenne was far too nice and good to do any harm to anyone, Kris though, Kris was a reckless little girl from a rich family, a rich and corrupt family.

Her brows quickly furrowed as she glared out the window. She couldn't exactly tell anyone, Kagami would murder her is she knew she read her book without knowing. Plus, there was no evidence about Kris being a trator at the moment. It did make sense though. When Kris disappeared the time they broke into the old factory to save Kagani, she came back empty handed. It was like she was not even trying to find her kidnapped teammate. But to state this to Ozpin, she would be setting herself up to make her look like a fool. There was no solid truth in it all.

She simply sighed, lowering her head down as she heard the water being shut off in the bathroom. If Kagami could stay silent about it, then so could she. She just had to pretend to stand Kris. She softly smiled at that, letting her arms drop down. She had to pretend to stand the small red head when they first became a team, she just had to do that again. All she needed to do was find was proof, and help Kagami through all this too.

Though, when the time came when she could, Elise was going to strangle Kris for hurting her.

"I can't believe we're about to enter our first match in the tournament." Cheyenne mumbled with wide eyes as she and her teammates stood in the entrance part of their side of the arena. "This is madness."

"It is going to be pretty cool." Elise couldn't hide her smile, no matter how angered she was at Kris. She was about to fight in the most epic battle ever told. "It's going to be beyond cool. The Vytal Festival Tournament, guys..." Her eyes widened up at the arena, eyes trailing up to the stands of people.

"You ready for this?" The deer Faunus looked back at Kris with a smile.

The red head nodded, folded up wood with straps on her back, her weapons underneath it. "I'm ready to kick some butt." She chuckled softly, reaching back to tap the wood. "And I'm sure as hell ready to use this."

"Elise was smart to make that." She reached over, nudging the young farm girl. "You have some really good hand skills. I could use some of that when I make things."

Elise shrugged back. "Maybe." She looked back at her team leader. "You doing alright?"

"Yeah..." Kagami slowly nodded, eyes still widened at the large sum of people in the stands. "I just... never seen so many people in one place at once. They're really loud too."

Kris couldn't help but smile, laughing ever so slightly. "Don't worry, once your adrenaline starts going, you won't even know they are there."

"Right..." Her head moved in a very slow nod. "I sure hope so." She took a deep breath, glancing down at her knees. "We definitely got this though." She cracked a smile, unwrapping and rewrapping the cloth around her knees to make sure they were compressed enough. "It's time to win this." As she straightened her back, Oobleck and Port started to talk in the announcer box up above.

"And here we are once again," Oobleck spoke as fast as always, taking a long sip of coffee as he spoke into the microphone. "It is time for the next match, and after the last round, it is going to be rather difficult to top that with those amazing archers, don't you think, Peter?"

"Ah, yes." Port nodded, his bushy eyebrows raising up just a bit. "Team ARRW is a rather impressive team. It's going to take a lot for our next contestants to outshine them."

"Enough talk about past rounds though," The green haired teacher leaned his arms onto the table. "It's time for the next match!" The ground immediately started to roar, cries of cheers all over.

"Indeed!" Port clasped his hands together. "We have a wonderful show for you right now. We have two first year teams going head to head. First, we have team MACE from Beacon!"

"Well," Kagami patted Elise on the back as she started to walk forward, her team following behind her as they stepped into the arena floor and walked towards the center. "It's now or never."

"And on their opponents," Oobleck's voice filled with excitement, the way announcers should sound. "Team MVVV from Haven!"

The crowed roared louder as Maya and the three Varken brothers started to step out and walk towards the center floor.

"So much for a low possibility." Prac mumbled, arms crossed as he looked around at the crowed.

Fid nodded, a small grin forming. "It seems chance was with us."

"I would think it was against us since we have to fight them." Fif glanced back at Maya.

She simply smiled at them as she ceased her walk in the middle platform. Her eyes locked with her twin sister. "I hope you know that just because we're friends, doesn't mean I'm going to let you win."

"And I hope you already know we have won." Elise grinned back, pointing at herself. "We've already chosen to bring home victory for Vale. We're going to be so famous, mama will even hear stories about our matches."

"The only stories told about you," Prac stretched his arms out.

Fid doing the same with his hands. "Will be about your loss,"

"And how completely brutal it was." Fif chuckled softly.

The brunet grumbled softly, crossing her arms and sticking her tongue out as the randomization for the grounds started up. Her grumbled only turned into a groan at the two which it had landed on: a volcano and an open beach with water.

"Well." Cheyenne blinked several times. "We just got put in a home field advantage that was definitely not for us."

Prac started to grin, looking at both places which had stone.

Fid was staring at the lava, a wicked smile forming as his fingers stretched.

Fif simply chuckled, watching the crystal blue water on the opposite side.

"You were saying?" Maya smiled, fixing her beanie before she let her arms fall. "You were going to win?"

"Yeaaah..." Elise quickly looked back at Kagami. "Do you have a plan?"

"Uh, give me a minute." She mumbled back.

"And here we go!" Oobleck took another sip of his coffee. "In three, two, one... begin!"

"Kagami!" Elise looked between the team before looking back at her leader. "Please say you have a plan!"

"Okay, okay." She quickly nodded, taking a step back. "It's the best plan ever. Think of it as a trump card." She took a deep breath, turning on her heels and bolting away. "I say we run! Until we think of something else!"

Elise blinked a few times before shrugging and running after her. Cheyenne quickly did the same as the opposing team charged at them.

"Guys that's not..." Kris groaned, eyes widening at Maya and the Varken brothers before she followed her team and rushed away.

Maya grinned, looking back a Fif. "You know where you go." She nudged her head over towards the water. The middle Varken brother nodded, his large body flexing under his clothes as he ran towards that side of the arena. She then looked over at Fid. "You and me," She pointed between the two of them. "I hope you like heat." As he grinned over at her, she looked up at Prac. "You," She waved her hands around. "Go everywhere. Just get their leader out first and split them up."

"On it." Prac nodded, heading straight for the group of four girls.

"Kagami!" Cheyenne shouted, ducking down below a rock to dodge a stone going over her head. "We are all waiting!"

"Well I'm still thinking!" She snapped back, her adrenaline overshadowing the thoughts that Cheyenne was a trator. "And I really have no idea!"

"This is really bad..." Kris munbled, peeking around a rock before it started to rise up. "Shoot." She muttered, jumping out of the way as it came crashing down, shattering into several pieces and flying off.

"Okay, okay." Kagami waved her hands in defense, looking around. "All I know is we can't be separated. If we are, then we're scre-" She stopped herself, seeing the ground below her teammates start to shake and crack.

"Damn it..." Elise muttered, her shoulders dropping down as she looked up at Kagami. A moment later, she was hurled through the air towards the volcano. She hit the ground, grunting heavily. "Ow." She reached up, rubbing her head. She then grunted again, Cheyenne landing directly ontop of her.

On the other side of the arena, Kris was letting out a high pitched scream seconds before she was swallowed up by a large splash of water.

Kagami sighed, arms dropping down as she looked up at Prac. "You know, throwing ladies is not very nice." She reached up, drawing her sword.

"No offense," He gave a generous smile. "But I highly consider you for to be lady like."

She flashed a grin, lowering her body to a better center of gravity. "None taken."

Kris gasped deeply, taking in all the air she could as she popped her head out of the water. "For the love of Oum..." She mumbled, looking around for Fif. Seeing no one in her line of sight, she grinded her teeth together in a groan. "Come on..."

Down below her kicking feet, Fif was grinning as he kept his body below the water. He let out some bubbles from his mouth, pulling his hands back and together.

On the surface, Kris was still rapidly looking around. She then blinked, seeing a few bubbles burst next to her. Her eyes widened and with out so much as a second thought, she pushed herself away and went straight for the nearest ground.

Mere seconds after she moved, the water where she was shot up high into the air. She took several deep breaths, stumbling up onto the dry sand which covered up her knees. "Good thing you moved..." She muttered to herself. She then yelped, a hand made of water grasping her ankle. As it started to drag her back into the water, she drew her weapon. Instead of slashing at it though, she tossed the curved edge attached to the chain aside, letting it dig deep into the ground. She pressed the button, the chain tensing as it tried to pull her free.

"You know," Fif slowly emerged from the water, his left hand open and towards the water limb. "People usually try to slice water. It never really works though."

"Well I like thinking outside of the box." She grinned a bit and with one hand, kept her grip on her weapon to keep her still as the other reached up to unbuckle the wood on her back. "I think you'll like this."

He raised an eyebrow before his eyes narrowed, the water pulling harder on Kris' leg.

Meanwhile, Cheyenne struggled to dodge between fireballs that shot in every direction towards her. She gritted her teeth, sliding down behind a black stone. With a deep breath, she quickly morphed her Atlas rifle into its second blasting mode. She knew she couldn't dodge forever, but she also knew she was faster than Fid. She looked up, eyes narrowing at an edge of the volcano that would be a perfect position for a sniper.

"Come out, come out where ever you are." Fid mumbled, looking all around as he stalked forward. In his hands were dancing flames. He head sudden snapped back, seeing a blur of light brown and white bolt upward. He quickly shifted his body, his right arm flying forward.

Cheyenne ducked, the fire barely gliding across the top of her head. "Jeez..." She gulped, jumping to the right to dodge another blast. She took a deep breath, reaching up with both hands as she pulled herself onto the rock ledge. Immediately, she pulled her weapon from her back and took aim. There was no time to lose.

On the same side, Elise gave a very heavy grunt, her back slamming into the ground as wind pushed her down. It was nearly impossible for her to move. Her jaw tightened as she opened one eye. This was completely unfair.

Maya smiled, pausing her winds as she jumped up into the air. She raised her hands above her head, a ball of high speed wind forming.

Elise's eyes widened as she rolled over onto her side. She pushed herself up, feeling an impact of wind behind her that sent her forward and flying away. "This isn't fair!" She shouted, tumbling on the ground just a bit before she skidded to a stop and pushed herself up. She brushed some dirt from her cheek off, eyes narrowing. "Really unfair."

Kagami groaned softly, looking up at the board that showcher teammates losing aura faster than anyone on team MVVV. Her head snapped back to Prac again, slicing her sword through the air to cut a stone in half. It split, each separate piece going to either side of her.

"You really aren't that bad." The eldest Varken brother nodded, his fist coated in a thick layer of earth. "But you and your team have no chance of winning. My brothers and I were born into the world of nature. There is no way to stop us or even Maya while were are in our element."

Kagami blinked a few times, suddenly a small smile forming.

He tilted his head, eyebrows raising. "Why are you smiling?"

"Well," She smiled some more. "I now how a plan from what you said. You're right. We really can't beat you when you're in your element."

He blinked back, his brows quickly rising before he stomped on the ground, a large piece of rock coming up from the earth and floating. He now realized his mistake. "You won't get a chance to tell them!" He shouted, jumping and kicking the earth towards Kagami.

She twirled her sword a bit, running straight towards it. "Try me."

Fif started to blink a little, seeing the wooden device Kris had takem off gain a faint green glow to it. "What... is that?" His eyebrows raised.

Kris gritted her teeth, clutching her weapon tight as she held out her hand. Her eyes narrowed up at him.

"Huh?" He let out. His eyes then quickly shot wide at the sight of what happened in the next second.

The square block of folded up wood slowly started to unfold. The first thing visible was a torso filled with bolts. Next, shoulders and biceps came out as did hips and thighs. Then, with the sound of gears creaking and wood rubbing up against each other, forearms and fingers appeared and shins and toes soon followed suit. It stood up, its life like back straightening upward. In a split second, a fist had formed, the green glow around the wood growing brighter before it sent its arm forward. It collided with Fif's face, sending him stumbling back.

With his mind distracted, the water trying to pull Kris into the depths released its grip. She let out a heavy gasp of relief, her body relaxing onto the sand. Her face hit it, her wet hair sticking fo her face. "Damn..." She panted, the wooden and life size figure losing its glow and dropping down. She pushed herself up to her hands and knees, shaking her head a bit. She shook her head, pushing herself away to dodge of stream of water.

"Not half bad." Fif mumbled, moving his jaw around. "That actually really stung." His eyes narrowed down at Kris. "This will be fun."

Up from the stone ledge on the volcano, Cheyenne took a deep breath. Her first blast hit one of Fid's, both sending off an explosive shock wave. The next two shots, Fid's was forced to block with two of his own fireballs. As he went to light his hands up again, Cheyenne quickly aimed right for his chest, slowly squeezing the trigger with steady breathing.

As the blast struck him, he grunted. His arms went up to block his chest, his feet digging deep into the black and rocky ground. He shook his head once the smoke cleared, coughing up a few puffs of smoke from his lungs himself. He simply nodded, rolling his wrist around.

While Kris and Cheyenne both seemed to have a second of luck in hitting their opponent, Elise was having none of the sorts. She was being tossed left and right by the winds, her darts curving direction each time she tried to shoot one. At the moment, she was between a rock and a hard place without a way to fight back.

"Damn iiittt." Elise groaned out, standing back up straight. She was waving back and forth, not of her own free will though. The winds around her wouldn't give up for even a second. She took a deep breath, her eyes half shut as she tried to look around. If the four of them didn't come up with a plan soon, they would be toast. As she stepped backwards, she glanced over towards the line between both environments. There, she saw Kagami.

He jade haired girl was being forced to be quick on her feet, dodging and ducking between rocks or slicing them apart. She wasn't making much distance towards Elise, if not any at all. She needed to get past Prac's defenses, and that seemed nearly impossible.

"Are you just going to keep on running?" Prac called out, tossing a large rock straight towards her.

She took a deep breath, bracing herself on the ground before jumping over the devris hurtling at her. He was right. All she had been doing was trying to avoid him the best she could. Her jaw clenched as she took a deep breath. That right there was getting her nowhere. So, she sheathed her sword, suddenly darting straight at him.

His eyebrows raised slightly, his head tilting the to side a bite. Even he wasn't expecting something like this. He brushed it off as quick as he could, bringing up more ground from the ground and tossing it at her. Like before, she dodged between each with ease, but this time, she was charging right at him.

"What are you even doing!?" He shouted, grunting with each rock he tossed.

"I'm taking your words!" She shouted back. "You say I keep running away, well how about I run forward and right at you!"

He gave an amused smile with a nod before he reached down with both hands, bringing up a piece of earth from the ground twice his size. He chucked it right at her, grunting heavily as his feet imprinted onto the ground.

For a few second, the large rock blocked Prac's veiw of Kagami. He let several small pebbles roll around in his palms. His eyes were locked on either side of the rock. "Come on... which side are you coming out of..." When the rock simply struck the ground and Kagami didn't appear, he let his arms fall a bit. Cautiously, he stepped towards the stone, walking around it. When he came to the back and still saw no sight of the girl, his eyebrows raised. "Huh?"

"Thanks for making me a way!" Kagami shouted, jumping out from the other side of the rock and bolting away. She had hit behind the rock the whole time, moving around it just as Prac did.

He groaned softly, charging after her with heavy footsteps. "Get back here!"

Kagami completely ignored him, running straight at Maya. The girl with the beanie glanced back, her winds lightening up around Elise. She quickly turned around, holding out her hands towards Kagami. With heavy panting, Elise didn't spare a second of her time before she jumped up, swinging her rifle around like a bat and hitting Maya in the side.

"That's for all that damn wind! My ears are freezing!" Elise snapped, watching the girl she struck fly several feet away.

Kagami skidded to a stop in front of her, panting softly. "Listen." She glanced back at Prac who was charging. "I have a plan, but it's going to drain a good amount of your aura and make you really tired. You up for it?"

The brunet nodded quickly, clutching her weapon tight. "I trust you. Just tell me what to do."

"Hey!" Prac looked over at Maya for a second. "You alright, Maya?!" When he saw her hold up a thumb, he softly grinned before looking back at the girl with jade hair. "Now you! Get back here!"

Kagamo gritted her teeth, looking back up at him before patting Elise's shoulder. "You got it?c She barely had time to explain her insane idea for a plan.

"I'm good." She nodded before running away. "Just do your part!"

"No problem!" She gave her a two finger salute before she jumped back, just barely missing a stone covered fist. "Okay! Too close for comfort!" She stumbled back before turning and sprinting. "Catch me if you can big guy!"

With heavy panting, like an aninal who had just finished running a mile in the winter, he snarled and darted right after her. "I will!"

With heavy breathing, Elise hid behind a bolder and crouched down. "Okay... okay... you got this Elise. You got this." She shut her eyes, inhaling as deep as she could as she steadied her breathing. Ignoring all the screaming and shouting around her, she felt her heat beat slow down to a rest. No matter what, she was a hunter, and calming her nerves was her thing.

A cloud of smoke slowly formed around her, in casing her body. When Maya saw this, she sent a heavy wind right at it. But as the smoke cleared, there was absolutely nothing there.

Kris grunted, a fist of ice crashing into her chest. She grunted, stumbling backwards as the wind was knocked out of her. She coughed heavily, looking up at the large beast of a man walking towards her with ice shards all around.

"I apologies if I hurt you." Fif said sincerely, creating a large ball made of ice and swirling water.

"Hell..." Kris panted put, her shoulders dropping as her eyes widened.

Just before he could follow through with his blow, Elise suddenly locked herself onto his back, her arm wrapped around his neck. "Hey! Kris!" The brunet and the redhead's eyes locked. For a moment, Elise paused. This girl was the reason why Kagami was hurting. She shook it off, eyes narrowing. It didn't matter. She was in the middle of a fight. "Head over to the other side!" She shouted, vanishing in a cloud of smoke.

Kris blinked rapidly, picking up the wooden dummy and strapping it to her back, running straight towards the volcano side of the arena.

On the ledge that Cheyenne was standing on, she was gritting her teeth. She may be a shooter, but she wasn't that fast of one when fire was being shot at her. She suddenly yelped, jerking up to her feet as Elise and Fif landed next to her.

With insanely rapid breathing, Elise shoved the youngest Varken brother off the ledge. "Get to the water..." She let out with raspy breaths before jumping down straight at Fid.

Stunned with what had just happened, Fid ceased his fire. With the moment of opportunity, Elise jumped right into him and held him tight. "Come on big guy!"

Cheyenne skidded down the rocky edge of the volcano, running forward as a misty smoke swallowed up the two. In the center of the arena, Cheyenne past by Kris, the two high fiving with a faint grin.

"Elise is insane, huh?" The deer Faunus muttered.

Kris simply smiled and nodded. "Always is. Just like Kagami."

Elise and Fid suddenly appeared in a shallow end of water. She made sure to soak him in it, making it harder for his fire to form. "Later..." She panted, sweat and water dripping down the side of his face. She herself then vanished in smoke. From the cloud, Cheyenne's foot shot through, striking Fid in the chest and sending him back into the water with a splash.

"Lord Oum..." Fif brushed his hair back, standing up in the heat of the volcanic area. He lifted up his head, shaking it softly. His eyes then widened, seeing a blur of red and white metal smash into his face.

"Try and take the moisture from the air this time!" Kris shouted. "I'd like to see you hit me with ice again!"

"Bloody hell." Maya mumbled to herself, rapidly looking around. Her team's advantages were slowly failing. Her eyes then widened as she saw smoke come from behind her. Before she could move, Elise had her arms wrapped around her and bear hugging her.

"Let's see you use wind under water..." Elise gritted her teeth, her chest rising and falling rapidly. As smoke formed around the two, they suddenly appeared under the water in a deeper end of the beach side of the arena. With gritted teeth, she smile, letting bubbles escape from her mouth.

Kagami ran until the she reached the edge of the arena. She panted, looking back at Prac who skidded to a stop several meter before her. "You know," He panted, looking back at his teammates. "You come up with rather insane plans."

She flashed a smile back at him, slowly started to move. "I think normal is way too over rated."

He chuckled, mirroring her actions until they were both the same distance from the edge of the boundary. "Indeed."

She simply smiled, looking up at the aura status bars. She could see those on MVVV dropping down. Her only worry was Elise who was getting close to the red zone.

Fif began to grunt again and again, Kris' chain wrapping around him. He tried to fight back, but before he could, it tightened and he was thrown straight into the ground.

"Come on already!" Kris shouted, twirling her weapons around and holding them by the curved part before she started to fire shot after shot. Fif did his best, grunting each time he was shot. But he couldn't form a shield from water to save his life.

There was then a sudden ding, Kris immediately ceasing her fire. She looked up at the board, seeing Fif at fifteen while she was at thirty-seven. "Hell yeah." She muttered, panting heavily for several seconds. She then heard another ding, her head snapping towards the other side.

Laying in the water, Fid sat up and shook his head rapidly, his hair sending water droplets flying. "That gun of yours... it really backs a punch when I can't hit it back with fire."

Cheyenne softly chuckled, her own breathing heavy as she held out her hand to him. "Trust me, if it was for this water, you would have clobbered me."

Deep underneath the water, Elise and Maya traded punches. Maya though, she had much more air in her lungs than Elise. The brunet's face was starting to turn red. Seeing the change in color on her face, Maya smiled to herself and let bubbles escape from her face.

Elise groaned, looking up. If she broke the surface, then Maya would have the advantage again. So instead of going up, she dove straight for the bottom of the water.

Maya's eyebrows raised at this. She groaned softly, diving straight after her. At the bottom, Elose looked up and gulped. If she was wrong, she was going to be in some serious trouble. She started to flip a few rocks over, and suddenly, several bubbles of trapped oxygen rose up. She stuck her face near it, inhaling the fresh air as much as she she could. Her lungs screamed for joy. She grinned, chuckling softly as she looked up at Maya.

The girl with the beanie froze, floating in the water softly. Her eyes then widened as she started to swim straight towards the surface.

Elise wasn't going to let her. She pushed herself off the ground, gliding through the watter like a bullet. She caught ahold of Maya's ankle, jerking her downward. She brought her fist back, hitting her in the chest. Bubbles quickly escaped from her mouth followed by a silent groan. Elise shoved her back down, pushing herself back up to the surface as fast as she could.

Once on solid ground, she stumbled away from the water and louded a blue dart into her air compressed rifle. Seeing Maya coming towards the surface, she fired. The water immediately sparked with electricity, a ding sound off.

Maya groaned as she came up to shallow water, stumbling forward. She was about to collapse before she felt hands catch her. Elise looked up at her, her face covered in dirt, sweat, mud, water and sand, and she smiled as bright as every. "To me a favor... and don't ever join the bad guys." Elise chuckled softly.

Maya blinked before forcing a smile back. She the glanced uo at the board, seeing Elise's aura at sixteen. Just one point away, Maya was just one point away.

Both girls then looked over, hearing two dings, one after another. Maya raised an eyebrow where Prac once was. "What... Was Kagami's part in this?"

"Well..." Elise smiled some more. "We both knew Prac could use earth in either area sooo... Kagami pushed the two of them off the edge." She smiled from ear to ear.

Maya blinked several times before she reached up and softly rubbed her head. "Dear Oum... do you guys ever do anything normal?"

Elise shrugged, looking back. "Naw, that would be lame anyway."

Down on the ground next to the main arena floor, Kagami groaned as she sat up. "Okay... I swear I thought we were closer to the ground than this."

Prac stood up, hitting the side of his head. "My ears are ringing. I'm blaming you."

She chuckled softly, watching him hold out his hand to help her up. She grasped his large hand in her own. "You guys are not just insanely big though. You guys are extremely strong." She cracked a smile as he returned the gesture.

"And what and amazing match for team MACE!" Oobleck let out, slamming his hands on the table. He looked over at Port. "Wouldn't you agree, Peter?"

"Ah, yes indeed. It seems the odds turned halfway in favor for the all girl team." He nodded back.

In the stands, Aero was in the front row and leaning on the railing. She slowly nodded, sitting up straight. "You guys may be strong... but you're still no where near a fighting level. This win was just luck. Your next match definitely won't be so lucky."

"Um, lady." A small boy with a green tie tied around his head like a bandana poked her. "Who are you talking to? Or are you talking to yourself?"

She suddenly jerked from her seat, waving her arms rapidly around. "Is there a problem with talking to myself! You know people who talk to themselves are usually really depressed and lonely an sad!"

The boy blinked a few times before slowly scooting away just before his mother snatch him by the arm and dragged him away.

Aero sighed deeply, sitting back down as she leaned onto the railing once more. "You guys aren't that bad though... you come up with crazy plans too..." She sighed, watching as the teams left the arena floor as the settings went back to normal.


	35. Past Meets Present

Hours before sunset, on the fair grounds of the Vytal Festival, team MACE was celebrating their first victory of the tournament.

"Here's to us kicking some serious but today!" Kris roared out, twirling a glass bottle of soda around in her fingers before taking a large chug of it. When the neck of the bottle moved away from her mouth, she let out a large burp that was loud enough to wake the dead.

Elise rolled her eyes, holding up a water gun in front of a booth. She had her tongue sticking out as she aimed with one eye shut at red and white circle targets. "Don't be so noisy. If peopld realize who we are then they won't let me play games."

The old man running the booth let out a heavy huff with arms crossed at the comment. Lien was Lien to him. And Lord Oum knew he needed to get all he could. Plus, he knew not even Elise could win this game.

"Alright. Now everyone shush. I'm getting that giant panda." Elise muttered with a deep breath.

Kagami smiled just a bit, leaning over towards Kris to whisper. "How much do you want to bet she'll spend all her Lien and not even come close to winning?"

"Hmmm..." The red head crossed her arms, holding the bottle by the neck between two fingers. "I'll bet all of my mother's savings."

"Deal." She held out her hand, smiling softly.

With a chuckle, Kris grasped her hand and shook it with a tight grip.

As Elise started shooting water from the gun, it didn't take long for her to grow angry at the fact the targets wouldn't fall down. She groaned deeply as she ran out of water. In a split second, she slammed another Lien card back down onto the booth. "Fill me up again."

As the old man running the scam chuckled softly, Cheyenne gave a sigh, her shoulders dropping as she looked over at Kris and Kagami. "I have a feeling we're going to be here for a while."

The red head nodded, leaning up against a wooden post as she took another sip from her bottle of soda. "Yeah, I'll have to agree with you on that."

The Faunus sighed herself, looking back at Elise as she ran out of water and slammed another Lien card down. She shook her head softly before looking down. She reached up, rubbing her forehead. "I can't believe this... I told you that you won't be able to win anything here. That's what these games are for."

"Shut up!" The brunet snapped, once again placing more Lien down. "I want this stuffed panda!"

Cheyenne shook her head more, rubbing her face with a very deep sigh.

Kagami couldn't help but smile softly at Elise with her hands in her hoodie pocket. Elise had no chance what so ever in getting that larged stuffed panda, but the fact her eyes showed such a childish determination was impossible to not smile it. It was funny no matter how you looked at it.

"Hey," Kris gently nudged her leader, looking up. She then eyed a woman in blue across the grounds. "She's been glancing at us several times."

She raised her eyebrow at her teammate before looking over at the woman. She the shrugged, brushing off the feeling. "I say ignore it unless we see her staring at us somewhere else. We're at the Vytal Festival." She smiled. "What could go wrong?"

Sitting at a ramen stand, Aero was playing with a very small bowl of ramen with her right hand. In her left hand, she held a pencil and gently drew soft strokes across a piece of paper. She had been staring at the four girls near the water target stand for nearly the entire time they had been standing there. She couldn't help but give a soft sigh, setting her pencil down as she stared at the picture she had been drawing.

Sketched in shades of black and white was the target booth with some faint changes to it. The wood didn't seem as old and the water gun itself seemed to have a more bulky look to it. Where the stuffed pandas were, there was stuffed animals of deer with large antlers. And the old man, he wasn't nearly as old. He was middle aged with black hair and a thicker body.

Where Kagami was standing, there was a girl with straight hair, the same exact hoodie as Kagami. Instead of having her hands oncher pockets though, her hands were interlocking behind her head. There was an epic grin across her face, almost as if she was doing her best not to burst into complete laughter. She had on a pair of dark skinny jeans that had some padding on the knees as well as heavy combat boots that looked like they would hurt if one was kicked by then.

In Kris' position, it was clear that standing there was a younger version of Aero. Her hair was cut short in a messy bob. Around her neck was a bulky set of headphones and on her face was thin round glasses. She was wearing a sleeveless shirt that showed her slim body, her left bra strap hanging down over her shoulder. Though her jean shorts were as no more than six inches from her waistband and torn in several places, she had on a pair of stocking on that too had rips all over them. Her boots were more fashionable, tied up with a very fuzzy top. In the drawing, she was half smiling and half annoyed as she twirled around a large corn dog in her hand.

Standing on the side where Cheyenne was, there was a girl with very long white hair in a very long kimono robe. Her hair was something out of a movie, practically too perfect. The flow of each strand was nearly impossible for any normal person with hair. Holding back the bangs was a small panda hair clip. Her kimono was etched in beauty. On the outside it was white and on the insdie it was a darker color. Her hands were currently hiding inside the sleeves but it was clear she had an annoyed look on her face and was sighing.

Now, where Elise was standing, there was someone who nearly looked like a spitting image of her. This girl though had a lighter shade of hair which was pulled back loosely. She had bangs wrapping down from the right side of her head and around her face. Around her neck was a set of dog tags on a chain. Her clothing was normal. Just a pair of heavy wet jeans that men wore and a shirt underneath a combat jacket with several pockets. She was screaming in the drawing, shooting at a target. It was clear she was angry at the man running the booth, though it didn't help with the fact she was doing poorly.

Aero took a deep breath, pushing her ramen aside as she stood. "Here." She handed out a large sum of Lien and dropped it on the table. "You can keep the extra." She snatched the drawing up, folding it carefully before she stuck it in her pocket. The old man at the stand raised his eyebrows at the Lien. He quickly looked around before reaching over and quickly taking it away.

Hour later, back in their dorm room, Kris was laughing as hard as she couldcwith her hands on her stomach. "You actually used ALL your Lien to try and win that stupid panda!"

"Shut up!" Elise's face was red. She quickly looked away, arms crossed.

"Aw, don't worry." Cheyenne reached over, patting the brunet softly. "I'm sure tons of people fall for that."

"He said he had never gotten so much money from one person before!" Kris let out, laughing harder with her hands on her knees.

Elise groaned deeply, arms falling down. She already wanted fo strangle Kris for being the reason Kagami was hurt, but also a lot more right now for making fun of her. She shook her head a bit before ramming it into Cheyenne's shoulder. "I wanted the panda..."

Kagami smiled just a bit, all the way down in a side lung to stretch out her knees. "You could have bought like twenty pandas that size if you would have used your Lien on buying them." She switched sides, stretching out her other leg.

"Shuuuuush!" The brunet twriled around, face planting onto the bottom bed. "That game was totally rigged!"

"Yeah." Cheyenne nodded. "It was."

She gave off a scream, shoving her face into her pillow.

Kagami sighed, sitting down on the ground as she straightened out her legs and leaned forward. She glanced up at Cheyenne, quickly looking back down. Even though the facts were undeniable, she still didn't want to believe that Cheyenne was evil. But facts never lied.

There was a silence that fell across the dorm room before Kris' scroll started to go off. The red head blinked a few times, pulling out her scroll with raised eyebrows. "Huh. I wonder who that is..." She muttered as she answered it. "Hello?"

"Kris... Eve..." A static voice came from the device, loud enough for the other three girls to hear. Elise's head snapped up, eyes narrowing slightly. Kagami stood up slowly, eyebrows raising.

"Who is that?" Cheyenne muttered but once she saw the look on Kris' face, she knew the red head had no clue either.

"Kris... Eve..." The voice started again. "Kris Eve... tell the girl with brown hair to stand... and tell the deer Faunus to calm down... and tell the girl with jade hair to sit..."

Kris rapidly looked around, glancing out the window with wide eyes. "The hell...?" She muttered, seeing no one at all.

"Okay, that is... really creepy..." Cheyenne mumbled, gulping slightly as she looked around the dorn for the sight of anyone at all.

"Kris... Eve..." The voice began to inhale and exhale deeply. "Go to the door... and open it slowly..."

"I vote on NOT doing what that voice says!" Elise raised her hand, getting up to her feet as she grabbed a book to throw at anything that quickly moved.

"I second that." Kagami muttered, eyes narrowed at the door as she tensed up.

Taking a deep breath, Kris slowly started to move towards the door. "Well I'm not going to just ignore it... just... have my back..." She gulped.

"I make no promises..." Elise quietly muttered so no one else could hear.

The redhead gulped again, slowly reaching out and grabbing the door knob. She twisted it very slowly, pulling the door open with a deadly loud creaking sound. All four girls held their breath as it opened up. All then deeply sighed in relief at the sight of nothing at all.

"Alright!" Kris spun on her heels, glaring at the scroll in her hand. "Listen here you prank caller! I have weapons and I am not afraid to hunt you down and hurt you!"

"Um... K-Kris..." Cheyenne gulped, slowly reaching up to point at the open door.

Sliding down from the edge of the door frame while upside down, a black figure was grinning devilishly with bright white teeth. "Kris... Eve..." The figure let out, the voice as raspy as ever. All Kris could do was drop her scroll before the figure jumped inside the dorm and tackled Kris to the ground.

Cheyenne stumbled back a bit, eyes wide as she bumped into Elise. Both girls fell down to the ground, grunting softly.

"H-Hey!" Kagami snapped, reaching down and grabbing one of Elise's compound bows. She held it like a bat, preparing to swing it like a bat. "Get off her!"

Kris groaned, shifting around softly. Her eyes opened up to look at who had tackled her. Her eyes then widened as a half smile formed. Though, the look was quickly replaced with anger. "Jess!" She shouted in a beyond angry tone, kicking her feet.

Pinning her down, a woman with long red hair chuckled softly, flipping her hair to the side and out of her face. She the softly groaned, blowing some bangs out of her eyes. She was wearing a red and long sleeve top that hugged her body, showing off her large chest. There was a white collar that folded down the v neck on her outfit. If it hadn't been for the extra red lace fabric around her chest, her clevage would have been easily seen. He had on a long red skirt that separated into four pieces, the edges trimmed in gold. She had long dark red stocking on up until her mid thigh with a pair of red heels topping it off. On her forearms were black armor plating with the Atlas symbol on it. At her waist was a red sheath with gold etched into it with a sword and a golden hilt resting inside it. Her red eyes narrowed with a chuckle. "Kris."

"Um..." Kagami let her arms fall slightly. She then looked over at Elise and Cheyenne. "They... knowceach other...?" The two girls shrugged back, looking at the two red heads.

"I hate you!" Kris snapped, kicking her feet harder. "You scared me half to death!"

"Aw, come on little sis," Jess reached over, ruffling Kris' hair. She then leaned downward, letting her large chest press into Kris' face. "There is no reason to be jealous. I'm sure you'll grow up to be big just like me." She chuckled.

Kris gave off another screaming, finally kicking Jess of her. She scrambled to her feet, crossing her arms with narrowed eyes. She groaned deeply, her glare hardening. "I hate you."

Just as if Jess knew she was going to say that, she pulled out a disc inside a case with the words RAINBOW TIME DANCERS SEASON ELEVEN written in bold on it. "Well I guess since you hate me you don't want this. It's not even out yet, you know. They release this in a month."

Kris' eyes went wide. Slowly, she stepped closer and closer. "Hey... hey you know I never meant it. I just... you know how I get." She softly smiled innocently. "Pleaaase..." She poked her. "Come on Jeeeeeeeeeess..." She stood on her tip toes. "Lemme have it."

"Well, I guess since I love you." She dropped the disc. Immediately, Kris snatched it up and appeared on her bed.

"There is exclusive content on this!" She squealed. "Over two hundred hours of screen time!"

"Dang..." Kagami muttered. "A season of that show is really long..."

Chuckling softly, Jess walked up closer towards the three girls. She smiled, moving herhead upward a bit. "So you're the three who got stuck with Kris." Her voice turned into a whisper. "I'm so very sorry..."

"I am in the same room as you!" The smaller red head snapped. She then blinked, seeing the confusion on her friends face. "Oh. I never told you guys about Jess." She jumped to her feet, standing in front of the taller redhead. "Well this is Jess. She's my older sister. She left Vale way back when she could to get away from our mother and went to Atlas for Huntress training." She smiled, softly nodding.

"And now I'm in a special division of the Atlas Military." Jess pointed to herself. She then pointed down at Kagami. "And Julia has been talking about you a lot. You should learn to not get yourself almost killed."

Kagami's face went red as she softly groaned. "Great... just great. She talks about me."

Chuckling, Jess gave a nod. "Oh boy, yes she does."

Kris rolled her eyes, pointing at her older sister before looking at Cheyenne and Elise. "Jess works with a woman named Captain Caesar. She runs a company of those who are highly skilled in swordsmanship. Jess is one of the best."

"I wouldn't consider myself the best." Jess drew her sword, it shimmering in the light. "Maybe above average." She grinned, holding out her weapon to Elise. "Here, try to hold this."

With raised eyebrows, Elise reached out and wrapped her hand around the handle. The second Jess let go, the sword seemed to have gained a very heavy mass. Elise gritted her teeth, the weapon dropping down and stabbing the floor. "How the hell do you pick this up!?" She struggled, trying to move it.

"It's made of extremely dense metal. It's twenty times heavier than your average sword." She reached over, calmly picking it up with a smile. "You'll have to be rather strong to control it. That's why Julia chose me to join. It's not ever day you find a woman who can wield a sword not many men can even lift."

"That's pretty cool." Kagami muttered, watching the blade. Something flickered in her eyes as she looked up. "May I?"

"Give it your best shot." Jess held out the blade.

Kris rolled her eyes, groaning softly as she crossed her arms. "I can't believe you. You walk in here and scare me and think you can make friends with my friends."

"I'm just looking out for my little sis!" The older red head smiled from ear to ear, letting go of her weapon as Kagami went to hold it.

The jade haired girl grunted heavily, the veins in her arms coming out as she held onto the weapon. "For the love of Oum..." She had to keep a tight grip to even keep the blade upright. "How do you even control this...?"

Jess blinked a few times, smiling slightly when she saw Kagami at least holding the blade upward. She reached over, taking it from her and sheathing it. "It took a lot of practice." She smiled a bit more, shoulders relaxing. "And if you can hold that you must be rather skilled in swordsmanship yourself. You should think about joining Julia and us if you don't ahave any other plans."

Blinking a few times, Kagami simply gave a small shrug. "I'll... think about it I guess."

"Will you get out already!" Kris snapped, pushing on Jess to move her out of the way.

"Aw, come on." Jess reached down, wrapping her arm around Kris' neck and picking her up. "How about we have some sisterly bounding time!"

The smaller red head let out muffled groans, kicking her legs around.

"I... am so happy Maya isn't like this." Cheyenne quietly said.

"Huh?" Elise looked up, her scroll out and recording the two Eve sisters. "Oh, yeah yeah yeah. That would be crazy."

"You're not even listening, are you?" She mumbled, standing up and brushing herself off.

Elise shook her head no slowly, looking back at the red heads. "Nope. Sorry."

Cheyenne smiled, rolling her eyes as she went over and climbed up the tower of beds to her own. The insanity of this team was pure insanity. But it was the insanity that made it special. And that feeling of special that made it all worth having.

Deep in the depths of the city, in a darker side of down, Valentine paced back and forth, rubbing her chin in the dim light of the room.

"Something bother you?" Nihilus spoke up, walking inside, his sister at his side.

She paused, looking up. She shook her head softly before looking back down. "Maya talked me into letting that green girl go for the better, but I'm starting to think it was a bad idea."

"It doesn't matter if it was or wasn't now." Thanaton spoke up, patting down her purple clothing. "The tournament is underway. Is everything that is actually important ready?"

Valentine sighed, slowly nodding. "Yes. We're all ready. The White Fang is fully arms and ready to attack and Cinder has her part down and ready. Even if there was a few altercation, everything is ready. In just two days," A wicked grin started to form across her face. "Beacon will have fallen down and Vale will have turned into a graveyard. The entire world will no longer trust each other. The kingdoms will be on a brink of war."

"And all of Remnant will change." Thanaton grinned, nudging her older brother. "You ready for it, Nilly? It's time for a bloody revolution."

He glanced down at her, rolling his eyes before crossing his arms. Though his eyes showed no emotion what so ever, he forced himself to barely move the side of his mouth up to smile. It wasn't really a smile. It was more of a twitch. "Yeah, I suppose I'm ready." He gave a nod, moving his arms to stick his hands in his pockets. "Two days is a hell of a long time to wait though."

"Tell me about it." Thanaton sighed, looking up at Valentine. The purple and gold eyes both locked with each other. "But it will be all worth it."


	36. Round Two

Walking through a main set of doors into the stands of the Amity Colosseum, all four of the MACE girls seemed to smile at the roaring crowds. It was one thing to be in the middle of the arena and hearing them cheering, but to be right smack next to them was utterly amazing.

"This is madness." Kris munbled, looking all around. "I had no idea there was this many people who came to see the tournament. Not to mention all those people around Remnant watching."

"No kidding." Cheyenne glanced over at Kris and Elise. "You two ready for this? We need to kick some serious butt in the double rounds to make it to the finals."

"I know I'm sure as Oum ready for this!" Elise grinned, pointing at herself with her thumb.

"Who ever takes out someone the fastest gets to move ahead to the final matches." The redhead flashed a smile over at Elise. "Deal?"

The brunet held out her hand, shaking the younger girl's. There was a silent glare before she shook it off and smiled. "You're on. Just don't be sorry when I claim victory for us."

"Both of you," Kagami nudged the two of them forward. "You guys need to get down there. We don't want to be a reason for a late match."

"Wish me luck!" Elise patted her back, twirling around as she bolted away.

Cheyenne rolled her eyes, crossing her arms with a faint chuckle.

Kris blinked a few times, watchig as Elise ran off. Her eyes then met the woman in blue who had been staring at them the other day. "Hey," She nudged Kagami, whispering. "It's the person again."

Kagami blinked a few times, crossing her arms before her eyes narrowed. "Okay, once is a fluke, twice is a coincidence, but three times we will have a problem on our hands." She looked down at the red head. "Okay?"

Kris nodded back, eyeing the woman once more.

"Now you go show them why we're the best." Her leader smiled, pushing her forward.

"Yeah, yeah!" She called out, running off to head towards the entrance of the arena floor with Elise.

Aero watched the team split in two, her eyes narrowed as she leaned against a wall. Quietly, she started to speak to herself. "You guys may work well together... but when the four of you are cut off, when you guys are divided... you are going to fail." She sighed, pushing herself up from the wall and heading towards her seat. "Divided you'll fall."

"Ladies and gentlemen of Remnant!" Oobleck announced over the sound system, speaking as rapidly as always. "It is time for our next double round! And here we go!"

"First up," Port raised his bushy eyebrows up. "We have Elise Spruce and Christmas Eve representing team MACE from Beacon!"

"And their opponents, the masters of archery, Artichoke King and Robin Russet, representing team ARRW from Shade!" The green haired man shouted, looking down.

"The name is Kris, not Christmas!" The small red head snapped, waving her arms rapidly around.

"And my name is Artie, not Artichoke!" A large and well built man shouted. He had fair hair that was brushed back with grease. He had a dark green hoodie on, extra fabric and plating on his shoulders and elbows as well as a guard across his left forearm. Across his back was a large wooden bow, a large blade strapped to the front of it along with a quiver. He had a pair of dirt brown jeans on with plating on his knees and heavy duty brown boots.

"Hot damn..." Elise muttered, her eyes wide at him. "That guy is... damn." Her arms had fallen and dropped down at the sight of the blonde crimson archer.

"Alright you." Kris reached up, pulling down on Elise's ear with an annoyed look. "Ignore his looks for five seconds. We have a match to win."

"Calm down, Artie." A man with darkened skin walked up. He wore a white long sleeve shirt with a brown vest over it followed by the same color belts across his chest. His left sleeve was rolled up, his slightly unbuttoned shirt showing an x shape scar on the right side of his chest as well as a similar looking scar on his right side of his face. He had on a pair of brown gloves and a golden plate across his right shoulder. He brushed his brown pants a bit before raising a hand to adjust his hat with a green feather on it. Like his teammate, he too had a bow and quiver on his back.

"Shut up, Robin." Artie crossed his arms, grumbling to himself.

"Holy Oum hot damn mother of pearl..." Elise's mouth gaped open, her eyes glittering over with the look of pure lust.

"Oh for the love of..." Kris sighed, reaching up to rub her face. At least the reckless farm girl had one weakness: sexy men who have bows and arrows.

"Well let's get things started!" Oobleck called out.

The randomization started, the first landing on a lighting mountain. The second was on a forest. The last two was an ice world and a beach with water. The arena split apart, falling down and rising up with all four different grounds for battle.

"And in three... two..." Port leaned forward on the announcer table. "One! Begin!"

As the two men bolted away towards higher ground, the two girls followed them. Up in the stands, Kagami was sitting next to Cheyenne. The Faunus blinked rapidly at the two men down below. "I can't lie... those guys are really hot..."

"You know," A man with long , nearly grey but still blonde hair with a braid leaned forward, giving a genuine smile. "Those are my teammates you are talking about." He softly chuckled, pushing up the sleeves on his long grey coat.

Cheyenne blinked a few times, her face going a shade of red.

Kagami seemed to smile slightly, turning around backwards to face him. "Let me guess, you have a bow too."

He gave a nod, leaning back. "Indeed I do. Rsenic Nanolas." He held out his hand, shaking Kagami's with a strong grip. He then pointed to his side at a man dressed in a purple tactical jacket and purple pants. He had brown hair cut extremely short. "That's Wint Royal. He's from Atlas so his name starts with a w but sounds like a v."

Wint blinked, looking up from a large bucket of popcorn. "Huh?" He muttered, swallowing a mouthful. "Oh! Yes! I'm Wint!"

Rsenic rolled his eyes, leaning back and holding his hands together on his lap. "For someone from a military Kingdom, he really doesn't have many manners."

"And he uses arrows too I'm guessing?" Cheyenne raised an eyebrow.

The man with long hair nodded, glancing at his teammate in purple before looking forward. "All four of us do, hence the name ARRW for us. Artie is definitely the best of us though."

"I wouldn't say that." Wint pointed at himself. "I am definitely better than Artie. Robin is probably the best."

Rsenic shook his head. "I can best Robin and you. I can't do so with Artie."

Cheyenne blinked a little, slowly looking forward. Her face went a little more red as she glanced at Kagami. "The four of them are REALLY cute." She muttered to Kagami.

The jade haired girl rolled her eyes, glancing back at the arena floor. "I guess if you guys say so."

On the battle grounds, Elise jumped back, getting out of the way just in time to miss an explosion from an arrow. "This is impossible!" She shouted, ducking down as an arrow flew over her head. She stepped behind a tree, taking a deep breath to rest.

"No duh!" Kris snapped, using her twin candy cane blades to block a long staff. She stumbled back, grunting softly as she caught her balance.

"Just because you are a girl and younger than me," Artie aimed straight at Elise with three arrows, each with a different color of Dust in them. "Doesn't mean I am going to be nice to you!" He snapped, firing.

Elise jumped out of the way of a first explosion. The second arrow was ice, hitting her feet and incasing them. "Shoot..." She mumbled, eyes widening before the third arrow struck, an explosion lighting up around her.

"Elise!" Kris called out, grunting as she was pushed back by the staff. Her head shot up, eyes narrowing as she brought her weapons around in a slash.

Instead of blocking, Robin pushed his staff into the ground, launching himself upward. His staff morphed back into a bow. He immediately grabbed an arrow, shutting one eye before he fired.

Kris gritted her teeth, holding her weapons in an x to catch the arrow headed straight for her. She side stepped, the arrow making a ting against her weapons. She sighed softly, looking down at her catch. Her eyes then widened at the flashing light on it. "Hell!" She shouted before it exploded on her.

"Welp." Cheyenne took a deep breath, sighing softly as her head dropped. "This isn't going to end well."

Kagami gritted her teeth a bit, her legs bouncing up and down. Her head then quickly turned back to face Rsenic and Wint. "Your leader, Artie. I see he has a blade on the front of his bow, but what happens if he is disarmed with that and has to fight hand to hand."

Rsenic blinked a few times before he chuckled softly. "He would attempt to use hand to hand, but to be honest Wint is way better when using his bow as a weapon."

"So he would be at a lost?" She asked.

He gave a nod. "It's happened twice before. He isn't too well without his dagger."

"And Robin..." She glanced back at the arena, eyes narrowing before she looked back. "He seems to much of a gentleman. It would be pretty easy to say he actually hurt me and have him let down his guard for concern, wouldn't it?"

Wint was the one to speak up this time. "Yep, sounds about like him. He and Rsenic are definitely the most chivalrous of the four of us."

"And you're not that bad at reading people." Rsenic added.

Kagami simply nodded, leaning forward a bit with a clenched jaw. "Call it a gift. I just hope Elise and Kris can see it too. No offense." She smiled back. "But I still want to win."

"None taken." Rsenic gave a nod.

"Switch!" Both Artie and Robin called out, high fiving each other as they switched sides.

Elise stood up slowly before she grunted as a staff struck her, sending her skidding across the ice with a throbbing pain in her back.

Kris groaned, looking up to see a green figure. "Damn..." She muttered.

Artie smiled at her, loading three arrows into position. When he fired them, the tip of each blew off and a large red fist formed. Kris grunted as a fist struck her face, sending her back. She was then struck in the stomach, all the air being pushed out of her lungs. The last one struck her face again, sending her flat on her back with weapons scattering. "Why the hell is this so impossible..." She groaned.

Elise struggled to stand, the ice underneath her feet making it difficult. Standing up in a set of trees on the ground next to the ice, Robin raised his bow. He quickly fired several arrows, not aiming for Elise but instead aiming for the ice caps above her.

Elise blinked a few times, seeing the arrows strike. Her eyes then widened, seeing it begin to crack. She scattered on her feet, trying to get away but it was too late. The ice came crashing down like an avalanche, burying her underneath.

"We are so screwed." Cheyenne muttered, shutting her eyes as she dropped her head down into her hands.

"I..." Kagami trailed off, sighing. She may have felt awkward around Cheyenne right now, but she had to agree. "Yeah. We've lost." She looked back at the two behind her. "Don't think this is over though. We'll beat you senseless during the next tournament."

"Hey," Rsenic held up a finger. "Nothing is over till it's over." He added in with a smile.

Two dings then went off. Wint sighed softly, leaning in towards him with a grin. "I believe it is over, buddy."

In the center of the arena floor, Kris and Elise were back to back to each other, sitting in the ground with heads swaying. Their eyes were swirls, chibi Grimm dancing around in circles around their heads.

"I... am cold... and hurt all over..." Elise quietly mumbled.

With smoke and ash all over her, Kris nodded ever so slightly. "I hurt... all over too..."

"One of Kagami's plans would have been very useful right about now..." The brunet mumbled.

Kris sighed, slowly sliding down to lay on the floor. "I agree..."

"And that's the match!" Port called out. "ARRW has taken yet another win for the tournament this year!"

"I belive someone should go and check on the two girls down there." Oobleck took a sip of coffee. "I do believe they are not getting up."

"Aw, yeah!" Artie high fived his teammate with a grin. "Victory number two! Just a few more to go!"

"One step closer to being crowned champions, mate!" Robin smiled from ear to ear.

"You know," He patted him on the back before snatching his hat away. "You should do the honors of going into the single rounds."

"Really? You think?" He snatched his hat back, readjusting the position of the feather before he put it back on. "I would think you would want yourself."

He gave a smile, walking off with his teammate. "A true leader is someone who knows when he can and cannot do something."

Robin smiled, crossing his arms. "You just don't want the blame if you lose."

"Yep." Artie simply nodded back.

Around half an hour later, Elise burst into the dorm room followed by Kris. "This is awful!" She shouted. "We were so close yet so far!"

"This isn't faaair!" The red head groaned, brushing off her arms.

Cheyenne rolled her eyes, stepping isnide quietly. "You guys are overeating. You win some and you lose some."

"But I wanted to win!" Both Elise and Kris shouted back.

"Why don't the two of you just relax." Kagami softy smiled, shutting the door with her foot while her hands were in her pocket. "We still have another chance to win in two years."

"I still wanted to win." Kris pouted, arms crossing.

"Come on." Cheyenne gave a caring smile, looking at her teammates who just got done fighting. "I'm sure you guys need your rest. I know it's not that late, but still, the fair grounds will be closing soon enough."

Kagami was going to say she agreed with Cheyenne, but instead remained silent. She didn't feel like agreeing with someone who was most likely against her at the moment.

"Fine, fine." Kris rolled her eyes, rubbing her arms a bit. "I am pretty tired." She yawned, stumbling towards her bed before plopping down in the lower bed. She grunted, shifting around softly before she found a comfortable position to rest in.

"Okay... I am tired too. Those... REALLY hot guys were pretty strong." Elise chuckled, crawling up to her bed. When she did, something fell down from her bed that made everyone in the room freeze and look.

Elise glanced down, seeing Kagami's leather book flat on the floor. "...shit..." She mumbled to herself. She quickly jumped down, her head darting towards Kagami. "Listen! I can expalin!"

Kagami blinked a few times, her heart skipping a beat as she looked up. Kris sat up herself, she even stood up eyes widening. Cheyenne glanced between the book and Elise before she looked at Kagami.

This, this right here was the turning point in their lives as a team. Little did the four of them even know how much things were about to crumble. They had spent the past year with each other, seen the ups and downs of each of their lives. They had fought together, lost together, they had seen the stars above and miracles unlike any other. They had told each other secrets, ones they could trust no one else with. And now, now they hit a breaking point. The hit the most critical point in any friendship, in any team. It was time to test the trust that held their team together like glue. This glue though, it was not strong enough anymore. At least, at this moment, everything that held them together as a team, as friends, was not strong enough.

Everything was about to fall apart.


	37. Preparing For War

Earlier that morning, Elise found herself alone in her and her teammates dorm room. While the others were off getting breakfast, she slowly snuck her way back into here. One would think that her friends would catch onto her using the bathroom for nearly twenty minutes, but they never even questioned it.

Elise quickly looked around, making sure not even a bird was looking through the window before she started to climb up the tower of beds towards the top. With her feet on the third bed and arms resting on the top one, Elise slowly reached out and slid a hand under the pillow. She half smiled, pulling out Kagami's green leather book. A moment later, she was laying on the third bed with a smile, flipping through the old pages as they creaked.

"Just... one poem before the double rounds." She stopped at a random page, opening it up to let the light hit the black ink. She noticed the date marked from a few months ago and simply smiled some more. She pressed a finger against the sheet, eyes locking with the first word. "Let's see what you wrote on this day in history..." She then began to read.

 _I am merely a mortal doing my best_

 _To keep any weapon out of my chest_

 _You ask me how_

 _Well I'll tell you right now_

 _I refuse to bow_

 _I do not cowar in front of my fears_

 _I do not break down and fall into tears_

 _I march forward_

 _On my own accord_

 _You can beat me down and use me_

 _Mistreat, bruise, cheat and abuse me_

 _But it won't matter in the end_

 _Because I will always ascend_

 _You think fear will make me cowar_

 _But instead it is a shower_

 _Of bravery and a drive_

 _That will help me thrive_

 _My resolve can't be broken_

 _Especially by a foolish brogan_

Elise's smile had grown the entire time she had been reading, but once she got to the last word, her brows furrowed as a look of confusion filled her eyes. "The heck is a brogan?" She laid the book down at her side and close it before pulling out her scroll.

"Okay... how was this spelled?" Her eyes narrowed a bit as she started to type the word in. "B-R-O-G-A-N..." She blinked a few times before half smiling at what came up. "Oh! It's a type of shoe!" Her smile immediately returned to that of pure admiration. "So she can't be broken by anyone's foot harming her." She leaned back, nodding as she shut off her scroll. "Kagami is really good at writing these things. She's basically pretty cool all around too."

Her whole body then jerked as she saw and heard the door knob move. "Hell." Her eyes widened. She immediately slid the book underneath her own pillow. She jumped down off the bed, rolling a few feet before she jumped up and launched herself to the bathroom. Just as she shut the door to said room, the door to the dorm opened up.

"I'm totally pumped for this match!" Kris let out with hands balled up into fist and slightly raised. She spun around a bit, arms dangling. "We're going to show all those dumb idiots what we can do!"

Cheyenne simply smiled at the small red head, rolling her eyes ever so slightly before she reached out to rub her head. "You better hope you win, your sister would probably never let you live it down if you lost."

She paused for a moment, her face suddenly going extremely white. "Shoot!" Her hands slapped against her face. "That's so true! I can't deal with that!"

"Then you better win with Elise." Kagami muttered, hands on her hoodie pocket.

Just then, the toilet in the bathroom flushed and out came Elise from the door who seemed as calm as ever.

"Speak of the devil." Kris muttered, rolling her eyes.

"Wait," Cheyenne blinked a few times, raising a hand. "You flushed then walked right out. Did you not wash your hands?"

Elise paused, internally cursing herself out for such a foolish mistake. Up until this point, she had been feeling so awesome and very much like a spy, but now she felt like someone would shoot her if she was a spy because she couldn't keep a good cover.

"Dude!" Kris took a step back, a disgusted look on her face. "That's really gross!"

"I..." The young farm girl sighed, lowering her head. Now she had to stick with this. "Well," She put her hands on her hips. "Mama and papa didn't have running water this one summer because our well got screwed up. Sooo... I just learned not to wash my hands."

This time, Cheyenne was the one who stepped away as Kagami slowly nodded. "Okay... that... yeah..." She herself took a step back.

"Please don't ever touch me again." Cheyenne spoke quietly.

Elise groaned softly, rolling her eyes as she screamed at herself in her head even more. "Whatever." She grumbled, walking towards the door. "Let's just hurry up and get to the arena. I'm ready to kick some butt."

Kris slowly stepped behind her, glancing back at Cheyenne and Kagami. "Bet her hands smell like butt too."

"I heard that!" The brunet snapped, glaring back at the smaller girl. "And they do not, thank you very much!"

Hours later, deep in the criminal society of Vale, the were grates upon grates filled with everything you could imagine. Stolen Atlas rifles, several tons of finely packaged Schnee Dust, Atlas mechs which were not prototypes and could seriously harm someone, everything filled each and every one of them. There were bombs, bullets and ammo, stolen transportation air ships, every room was packed to its limit with destructive material.

White Fang members of all different kinds of unique traits were dressed in full uniforms with Grimm mask hiding there expressions. Even their eyes could not be red with the monstrous features the masks gave off. They strolled up and down, marking off on clipboards with check lists on what their inventory was, on how much loot they had stolen over the past year.

Valentine watched from a catwalk above, leaning on the railing with her arms crossed. Her golden eyes were like daggers, piercing through anyone who dared to even look up in her direction. Hearing footsteps draw near her, she stood up straight, looking over to see Nihilus.

With his hands inside his pockets of his red and white zipper hoodie, he glanced around before pausing behind her. "Cinder wanted me to explain a few changes to the plan. Nothing drastic, just something that will make things a lot easier."

"And what's that?" She turned around, leaning her back up against the railing.

"Apparently there is some girl here from Atlas." He slid his hands from his pockets and crossed his arms. His restless eyes showing no emotion at all as he blinked. "She doesn't know how, but this girl from Atlas is apperently a machine with an aura. I knew those bastards up there were twisted, but knowing they can switch out an aura from one person to a machine is awful." He gave a very long sigh, lowering his head as his blue hair covered his eyes.

"Anyway," He continued. "There is also a girl from Beacon who is in the single rounds and can control polarity. With tensions already high and then this," He looked up. "After that machine is destroyed, we will move in. The attack will begin then. And this corrupt kingdom will start to fall."

Valentine slowly nodded, a demonic smile slowlu forming across her face. She truly was the devil deep down. Well, atleast this half of her was. "Unsportsmanlike competitors and then a what would have been human death." She chuckled softly, looking down across the stolen goods. "This will work out wonderfully. Their rage and anger and fear, it will surely turn the Grimm on and draw them near."

Nihilus gave a slow nod back, sticking his hands back in his pockets before he began to walk off. "Oh, and Thanaton says we have an overstock in Dust. I don't know what you are planning to do with all of that, but I will say this." He glanced back at her. "Make sure they all suffer."

She flashed a smile back at him, slowly nodding. "They won't know what him them when it all begins. Everything will go straight to hell so fast they won't be able to comprehend it."

"Good." He gave a nod then walked on. Once he knew he was out of earshot, he gave a soft sigh and lowered his head. "And please..." He took a deep breath. "Be careful out there and don't die, Val."

Down where White Fang members were checking inventory, Thanaton was walking around and eyeing different Faunus from time to time. "Hey," She finally spoke up, looking at a pair of Faunus who were carrying a large bomb. "Unless you both want to bloe of to kingdom come, I advise you two skinny twigs set that down gently and let larger men carry it."

They two quickly looked at each other, daring not to question her. They set it down gently, quickly rushing away from it in search for stronger men than themselves.

Sitting on the top of a grate, Eri flashed a smile, her blonde hair hanging around her face as she tapped her red finger nails against the wood. "You definitely have all of them on a very tight leash." She chuckled.

Thanaton looked up, smiling at the small blonde. "It's a privilege of being a scary ass bitch."

She smirked back, jumping down. As she stood up straight, she crossed her arms with a chuckle. "Ain't that right. You can wrap any man around your fingers if you're good enough."

"I think you mean bad enough." She crossed her arms back.

"Fair, fair." The blonde nodded, turning on her heels to look around. "So you just sit around her all day and boss these wannabe cult members around, huh?"

"Yep." Thanaton nodded. "Pretty much." She looked all around, smiling at the Faunus scattering at the mere glare from her fearsome purple eyes. "It is really fun from time to time." She flashed an epic grin. "I can get them to do ANYTHING if I really act like I'm upset."

"Sounds really fun." Eri flipped her golden hair back. "If I ever get too bored around here, I'll know where to go. People at Junior's are pretty boring now. They had a lot more back bone before I got sent to prison."

"Hey," She smiled, nudging the smaller girl a bit. "I know Junior. He's pretty sweet in bed."

"Do you..." She blinked back at her. "Do you just sleep with every man you want to?"

"Pretty much." She nodded. "They have to be good enough though. It won't be just ANYWAY."

"Sure, sure." Eri waved her off. "What you say." She then started to walk away. "I'm going to go get some rest. There's going to be a lot of bloodshed tomorrow and I can't wait!"

"Bet I'll kill more dopes than you!" Thanaton shouted back, brushing her purple hair to the side.

"Only in your dreams!" She called back, passing between a few White Fang members pulling out rifles and weapons of all kinds.

In team MACE's dorm room, all four girls were silent. The air had gone still, not a single leave blowing in the wind outside or air conditioning blowing on the poorly taped posters to the walls.

In the middle of the floor, Kagami's leather book was laying face up, the Monomane mark that was engraved on it upward. Elise was next to the window, her back facing it. Her heart was racing like mad. There was one clear rule Kagami has set, and that was to not read her writings without her.

Across from her stood Kagami, her arms hanging down at her side. Her pale tea green eyes were wide and filled with more betrayal than before. First Cheyenne, and now Elise had crushed her trust.

To Kagami's left, Cheyenne was standing and blinking rapidly. Of all the girls in the room, she was the one who was the most lost and confused. "Okay..." She quietly spoke up. "Okay... how about we all take a deep breath and let's breathe?"

Kris, who was opposite of Cheyenne, could not help but gulp some as she looked between her teammates. Everything around them was gaining a stiff feeling. Even she could tell that things were about to go south and become extremely bad. It was clear to every girl in the room.

"You... read my book?" Kagami spoke up in a very hush tone, her face paler than usual.

Elise gulped, chewing on her lip. She then inhaled deeply, pointing at Kris. "It doesn't matter if I did! I know she's the one who is working with those damned criminals and I belive you!"

"Hold on..." Cheyenne slowly held out her hand. "Hold on..."

Kagami blinked once, her brows furrowing. "You're telling me it's Kris now too!?"

"The hell do you even mean I'm working with the enemy!?" Kris snapped, stepping in Elise direction.

The brunet growled, shoving her back. "I'm not stupid! I know it's you!"

"So you're telling me all three of your are deceiving me!?" Kagami snapped, pointing at Cheyenne. "First it's that wrench and her White Fang ties!" She glared at Elise. "Then you taking my book!" Her head snapped to Kris. "And know you're a traitor too!"

Kris growled, hissing on Kagami's direction. Rather than being upset from accusations towards her, she was upset on them towards Cheyenne. "She hasn't done a single thing wrong! She's been honest with us and clean!"

"Then you explain to me why I heard her voice!" The jade haired girl stepped forward.

"So it's both of you!" Elise snapped.

"I haven't done shit!" Kris glared back at the brunet.

"Then explain on how you did absolutely nothing when we were looking for Kagami! You came back with nothing!" The farm girl shot back.

"G-Guys..." Cheyenne quietly whimpered, holding up a hand with a gulp.

Elise simply continued. "You say you were searching for Kagami, but you clearly weren't! It all makes total sense!"

"Well what do you even know!" Kagami snapped, glaring at the brunet with heavy breathing. "You looked through MY personal stuff! Do you see all this worthless junk laying around here! I don't go snooping through it!"

"You know!" Kris growled at Elise. "I was just starting to accept the fact the maybe hunting for food is ago! It's part of survival and natural in nature! But to hell with that! All you damn murderers are all the same! Sick and twisted!"

"You can just shut up!" Elise shoved the red head back. "You don't deserve to speak after hurting Kagami!"

"...g-guys..." Cheyenne spoke up a lot more quieter now, her eyes beginning to tear up.

"I don't have to listen to this bullshit and your stupid accusations!" Kris shoved her back, stepping towards the door. "I am going to go sleep with my sister tonight and don't think I'm coming back in the morning!" She stepped out, slamming the door shut and going left.

"Fine by me you whore!" Elise snapped.

"Who are you even calling a whore!?" Kagami gritted her teeth, snatching her book up. "I clearly sad this was mine and you still go through it!" Her head snapped towards Cheyenne. "And you're just a lying traitor who doesn't actually give a damn about me!"

"...g-guys..." The Faunus' voice was even smaller.

"You can't just yell at Cheyenne like that!" Elise snapped. "We all know she left her White Fang ties behind! Kris is the real monster her!"

"All of you are!" Kagami shot back, pushing the brunet to the side and opening the window. "And I'm not dealing with any of you anymore." Her voice was cold, unlike anything else. She junped out, latching onto a tree before climbing down.

Elise growled, jaw clenching as she jerked away. "Like I give a damn anymore! I'm out!" She shouted, opening the door and slamming it shut. She turned right, walking away.

Standing alone in the silent room, Cheyenne quietly sniffed. She collapsed to her knees, the palms of her hands bracing against the soft rug. Her vision blurred, tears dripping own next toher hands and staining the rug. She sniffed again, squeezing her eyes shut tight as her fingers dug into the fabric on the floor as tight as they could. "The hell just happened!?" She shouted, shaking her head. Tears flew from her face as her light brown hair wrapped around her face. "The hell..." She sniffed heavier before she started to sob. "The hell just happened..."

No response came, only the sound of pure silence and loneliness echoed inside her head.


	38. Broken Hearted

With the night sky overhead and stars speckled throughout the blackness, the broken and shattered moon lit up the dark half of Remnant with just enough light to see. This light shined through the trees of Forever Fall, making strange shapes appear on the forest ground. The leaves slowly descended in the darkness, the wind gently blowing them until the fell to the ground and disappeared underneath the many other leaves falling.

Kagami's green and black tennis shoe came crashing down onto of a leaf, it warping underneath the weight of her foot before it was thrown back up into the air and fell back down into its own way of death.

The jade hair girl panted as she as she came up to a tree trunk, resting a hand on it. Her chest was rapidly rising and falling, her knees feeling weak and fragile. She shook her head, turning around so her back was against the trunk. She slowly slid down until she was sitting and leaning against it.

She reached up, rubbing her eyes. "I-I..." She took a deep breath, her voice shaky. A cloud of air slowly came from her mouth as she exhaled. The cold night chilling every bone in her legs. Her shorts definitely needed to be changed out for pants at some point, sooner better than later.

She brought her knees close to her chest, staring at the white bandages wrapped around then. She could not help but to sniff softly as she pulled out her leather book. A shadow created by the tree above and the moon casting down upon the circular symbol on the front.

Her thumb slowly trailed across the indented symbol as she bit her lip. She was still for several long seconds before she opened the book, listening to the trees creak as well as the pages turning. She flipped through the pages with writing until she found the last page. There, she paused and opened it up, taking out a pencil.

Then, she proceed to do what she always did when her emotions became far to much for her to handle. She wrote down exactly what she was feeling since there was no one around her. She gulped, pressing the tip of the lead to the pencil as she began to write.

 _Ever since that night_

 _I've tried to make things right_

 _To renew my mistakes_

 _No matter the stakes_

 _I'll do whatever it takes_

 _But now it seems all for naught_

 _Even with all I've been taught_

 _Have lost and have gained_

 _I still feel so very chained_

 _I've tried so very hard_

 _To see the light of a star_

 _In a cold and cloudy night_

 _Yet it still doesn't feel right_

 _There seems to be something missing_

 _Something my broken heart is chasing_

 _Something that makes all I've done_

 _Worth something to someone_

 _Because in the very end_

 _What point to life is there without any_

She stopped, her hand trembling before she could finish her poem, tears suddenly dropped down onto the paper, staining the page. She sniffed heavily, reaching up and rubbing her eyes with the sleeves of her hoodie. "Damn... damn all of you..." She muttered under her breath.

She looked up, her eyes beginning to turn red from her tears. She quickly shook her head, lowering it back down as she shut her eyes. "Damn all of you!" She snapped, several resting birds flying up and away from the tree Kagami was leaning on.

After well over an hour, an hour filled with crying, she slowly lifted her head back up. She couldn't even remember the last time she cried so hard. She shook her head, wiping away her tears with her sleeves before she grabbed her pencil.

There was no point in not finishing a poem. So she wrote down one last word before she shut her book and laid down on the ground. She curled up, letting the leaves fall down on top of her. Sleep didn't come soon to her though, her mind couldn't be quiet. Instead, it continued to think about the last word of her newly written poem.

 _Friends_

At the same time, with puffy red eyes and messy red hair, Kris stumbled up to a door marked Eve. She reached up, her hand trembling as she knocked on the door. "Jess...?" She called out. "Are you awake? Jess?" She paused, waited a few seconds before she started to knock again. "Jess, please." She lowered her arm, sniffing some.

After half a minute, the door slowly opened up. "You know..." Jess yawned, her red hair a mess. She was in a pair of red athletic short shorts that had a golden trim on the bottom and a sleeveless white muscle tee. "It's... the middle of the night..." She opened her eyes and blinked. Her eyes immediately widened a bit. "Kris?" She blinked.

The younger sister sniffed, suddenly wrapping her arms around her older sister and hugging her tight. "I wanna go home..." She muttered in a half whimper. "I don't want to go to school here anymore... everyone... is stupid..."

"Alright, alright." Jess patted her back a bit before picking her up with ease. "Calm down, calm down. What's up? What happened?" She carried her little sister over to her bed and sat down, letting Kris sit down next to her. "Explain everything. You would never cry unless mom did something to you."

Kris sniffed, half curling up in her older sister's arms. "You never would let mother see you cry... no matter what... you'd never let me see you cry either... I... I never understood... how you could be that strong..."

She flashed a smile, leaning her forehead on top of her head. "Enough about me, I want to know what's or who hurt you. What happened?"

"My team..." Kris sniffed, rubbing her face into Jess' body. "I... I hate all of them... I trusted them... like I trust you... and... and it was a mistake... I messed up... and I... I regret it..."

Jess gave a very long sigh, rubbing her younger sister. She held in her growl of anger, keeping a calm and caring tone in her voice. "Kris. Please, just tell me what happened?"

"They... they just..." She held her closer, giving a small whimper. "I don't even know how to explain!" She shouted before she started to sob ever so slightly.

She shook her head, holding her sister tighter. "Alright... alright, then tell me exactly what happened. Don't explain it. Just tell me word for word what your remembered happening. Okay?"

Kris gave off a whimper, nodding with a mhmm. She slowly died down her sobbing and raised her head. Her green eyes were a deep shade of red and extremely puffy now. "It... it all started because Elise was stupid..."

The young red head they went onto the details of the previous hours before her sudden appearance in Jess' room. She went over everything from Elise secretly reading Kagami's book to Kagami accusing Cheyenne of being apart of the White Fang and Elise saying Kris herself was a criminal in action to Kagami losing all trust she had towards all of them.

When she finished, Jess sighed and rubbed her sister's head softly. "Listen, Kris, I know you're pretty different from the average person, but I know one thing is for ceetain." She pushed her younger sister back a bit, forcing Kris to lock eyes with her. "You are good. There will ALWAYS be good in you. You are not a bad person and you never will be. You are my younger sister, Kris." She smiled. "You are the most kindess and most caring person in the world. No matter how mean the rest of the world is to you, you always hold it all in and keep on doing your own thing. And no matter what that brunet and jadette say, you will never be a criminal."

"Did... you just say jadette?" Kris sniffed, looking up.

The older red head chuckled some, reaching up and rubbing the back of her head. "Y-Yeah? Is that not a real word or something?"

Kris rolled her eyes, sighing softly and leaning her head back onto her sister. "I guess if you want it to be..." She shut her eyes, clutching her sister a little tighter. "But... I don't want to go back to my dorm... not with those people... and I don't want to go to school with them anymore either..."

"It's alright, I promise." Jess yawned, pulling her sister down as she laid down. "Now you can stay, but I have to be up by sunrise to help with protection for the festival, alright?"

"I'll ne quiet..." She sniffed again, curling up next to her sister. "Promise..."

Jess sighed, giving a nod as she shut her eyes. She may have been calm on the outside, but on the inside, she was a raging ball of fury. She could handle and deal with anything her mother would throw at her, metaphorically and physically, and she could deal with all the harsh words against her and abuse, but there was one thing this master swordsman could deal with.

She could not handle it when someone made her baby sister cry. She was already preparing different ways to attack her sister's former teammates and how she would make them suffer. She was going to punch them as hard as she could the next she saw of them. That was for sure. No one got away with making her sister cry, not anymore at least. Especially with her around.

As the two sisters fell asleep, Elise was sitting on the roof of Beacon's dorm rooms, glaring off in the distance at the broken moon. Her legs were dangling off the ledge as she gently kicked them back at forth. She grinded her teeth a little, gulping heavily. Her eyes we still watery and she was doing her very best not to cry. Even though no one was around her, she didn't want to cry.

While growing up on the Spruce family farm, she never had once remembered crying. It was always fun and games there. Hard work followed by nature hikes and animals, that was her life. Of course she would get yelled at by her mother from time to time, but she never once cried about it all. She never cried in sadness. Never once.

She took a deep breath, slowly looking down below at the ground which was several meters below her feet. She couldn't help but give a faint smirk, reaching up to rub her eyes. "It's funny..." She spoke to herself, smiling a little more. "I move so much as an inch, I'd be falling to my death. Yet I'm perfectly fine." She chuckled, leaning backwards.

When she was laying down, she had to rub her eyes again to keep herself from crying. She stared up at the night sky and sighed. "I've been in a lot of situations like that... huh?" She grinned. "I've been hanging from tree limbs my whole life, free climbing mountains as high as buildings and who knows what else."

She shut her eyes, taking a deep breath to hold in her tears. "I've done so many insane things... been so close to killing myself so many times... hurt myself more than that... and..." She gritted her teeth, quickly sitting up. The palms of her hands quickly pressed against her eyes as a single tear came down the side of her cheek.

"I've always felt so invincible! I've always been focused on having fun and adventure!" She shook her head softly. "But out of all the stupid shit I've done, I never once thought about doing it with friends!" She lowered her head down, rubbing her eyes as hard as I could. "But now that I know what it's like to have people around with me... I hate the fact that I lost it!"

Elise gave off a scream, rage pouring out of her. The still air suddenly erupted, sleeping birds who were perched bolted upward and threw through the sky. Her own voice echoed in the distance. But once it was gone, silence fell again over the night.

She sniffed, bringing her knees up to her chest. She leaned on them, sniffing heavily as tears softly dripped down onto her camouflage jacket. "Mama always said I was crazy for talking to myself..." She took a deep breath, lowering her head down onto her knees. "Maybe I am crazy... I probably am crazy... probably need to be locked away in some insane asylum... or I'm just really lonely..." She shook her head, slowly laying back down onto her back.

She moved her arms, resting them over her eyes as she shut them. She gritted her teeth, an image of her teammates appearing. She quickly threw her arms down, glaring up at the sky. "Insane or not..." She groaned. "I'm probably just lonely too... I'll admit I loved growing up on the farm... but there was never anybody else around... I love Jelly Bean and all but..." She deeply sighed and shook her head. "It's just not the same at all..."

She reached up and rubbed her eyes and face dry with her sleeves, licking her lips as she lowered her arms down. "I guess you're just not good with people, Elise." She sighed again. "Maybe you just weren't meant to have friends... you weren't born for it... and you clearly weren't raised for it... and it doesn't seem like anyone can handle you either..."

Elise rubbed her eyes again, sniffing as she slowly looked back up at the sky. She stared at the stars, gulping some. She then lifted an arm, pointing at a single star. "One." She muttered, taking a deep breath. She then pointed at another. "Two. Three. Four." She yawned. Crying had made her body feel weird. She now had a headache and felt completely exhausted. She pointed at yet another star. "Five..." She muttered, trailing off a bit.

She use to count pigs outside her window when their pen was next to her window back at her home. It always helped her fall asleep. Since there was definitely no pigs around her, aside from those giant Varken brothers, Elise's next idea was to count the stars. There was plenty and there was no way she could ever count them all. Call it redundant to even try to count them, but she didn't want to count them all. She wanted to fall asleep and forget all that had happened tonight. She didn't want to remember today. She especially didn't want to remember how her teammates had looked at her. She didn't want to remember the hate and distrust in their eyes.

While the three girls were all off on their own, Cheyenne had been sobbing into her knees while sitting on the floor of MACE's dorm room the enture time. Only recently had she quiet down and finished crying. She very slowly stood up, rubbing her eyes. The dead silence of the room was finally getting to her, so she did the only thing she could.

After going to the bathroom and throwing cold water overher face several times, she dried her skin off and opened the door quietly. She instinctively turned off the lights to the dorm, shutting the door behind her with a sigh. Though her face was no longer red, her eyes were still red from crying so much and so hard. But she did all she could, and right now, there was only one place she could think of going.

Inside MVVV's dorm room, the three boys were currently out at the moment, leaving Maya alone. She was sitting on her bed, playing with a deck of cards while playing some music from her scroll. Her hair was up in a ponytail, she put it up at night to help keep the tangles out of it. Just as she set a few cards down, she lifted her head to a knock on the door. She set the rest of her cards down, turning off her music as her eyebrows raised. "Come on in." She called out. She definitely knew it wasn't her teammates, they wouldn't knock.

Slowly, the door opened up to reveal Cheyenne. "H-Hey..." She muttered quietly, walking in slowly and shutting the door.

"Hey." Maya muttered, looking at her Faunus sister. "What's going on?"

The Faunus sighed softly, walking over. They two made eye contact and with unspoken words, she sat down next to her twin sister. "I... really have no clue."

She gave a nod back, sitting up straight. "Well, if you want to start somewhere, you should start at the beginning."

"Well," Cheyenne slowly looked over at her. "Our team... we sorta had this falling out. I'm still not sure..."

Maya blinked, noticing her twin's red eyes. "Well, what happened?"

She sighed again, looking back down. "Well... first Elise read this really personal thing of Kagami's... and Kagami got upset... then Elise started going off on Kris saying she was some criminal working with the White Fang... but then out of no where... Kagami started saying I was the actual traitor in our team..." She looked over at Maya, tears swelling up again.

She blinked a few times, her eyebrows raising as high as ever. "Why would she even think something like that?"

Cheyenne shrugged softly with a sniff. "She says when she was caught that someone with my voice talked to her... she said she was absolutely positive it was my voice... a voice doesn't like... I am the only person... with..." She trailed off, looking over at her identical twin sister. "...with...my...voice..."

The two made eye contact, a moment of silence overwhelming the two. Everything went still until the wind blew and made a whistling noise against the windows.

"Cheyenne..." Maya slowly stood to which the Faunus quickly shot to her feet.

Cheyenne quickly stepped away, her eyes slowly widening. "I'm not the only one with my voice..."

Maya gritted her teeth a little as the room fell to silence again. This was never suppose to happen. She wasn't even suppose to have a twin sister. Though, she didn't mind having one though. She had stayed awake several nights thinking of what would have happened if her parents didn't have her put up for adoption.

They did though. That was the thing. She was adopted and give a new mother by the name Valentine and that pink haired demon's orders had to be followed. There was no way in a million years Maya could get the courage to stand uo to her, at least not alone.

"It was you..." Cheyenne spoke with a nearly trembling voice. Her mind shot back to the time she snuck into the White Fang base. The two Faunus on guard duty mentioned something about seeing her before. They had mistaken her for Maya. It all made sense now and she was silently cursing at herself for not noticing it sooner.

"Listen to me." Maya took a step forward, grinding hwr teeth as her sister took two steps away. She inhaled deeply before she heard the laughter of the Varken brothers coming towards the door. She quickly reached over, grabbing Cheyenne's wrist as hard as she could.

"H-Hey!" Cheyenne snapped, wincing slightly in pain.

Her twin ignored her, pulling her close with narrowed eyes. "Mention this to them and I will kill you." She spoke through clenched teeth. "Do you understand?"

"They don't know... do they..." She muttered back with a gulp.

The door swung open and Maya quickly released her grip. Almost having to bend down to get inside the door, the three brothers came in one by one.

"Oh. Cheyenne." Prac blinked a few times as he entered, tilting his head.

Fid's eyebrows slowly raised. "It's so late at night, why are you here?"

"Is something wrong?" Fif took a step towards her.

"I..." Cheyenne looked at then, glancing at Maya before shaking her head no with a gulp. "No, no, no, no. I'm fine boys. I just... wanted to say hello to my dear sister." She looked over at Maya. "Everything is fine, right?"

"Yep." Maya nodded, scooting over and drapping her left arm across Cheyenne's shoulders. Her right hand patted her chest. "We just needed a nice and friendly talk."

"Y-Yeah..." The Faunus nodded back, slipping out of her hold. She dodged between the three Varken brothers, ending up at the door. "Good night to all of you." She nodded, quickly waving before leaving the room.

"What..." Prac raused his eyebrows.

Fid slowly looked over at Maya. "...was that..."

"...about?" Fif seemed deeply confused.

Maya sighed, waving her teammates off as she crawled back into bed. "It's nothing boys. I promise. It's nothing you guys have to worry about. I promise."

They all slowly nodded, looking at each other before they each climbed into their own beds. Each wanted to ask more questions, but the final rounds were tomorrow and they needed rest.

Kagami had woken up later than she wished, as did the rest of her teammates though she didn't know. By the time she got to the battle grounds for the tournament, she immediately caught the jist of what had happened only a short time before.

One of the final competitors, after winning their latest match, had attacked their opponents and severely injured them. It was hard to believe something like that happened without any signs of warning, but it was the Vytal Festival and no one could predict what could happen.

When she made it to the stands and found herself a seat, she saw a red haired girl along with a girl with orange hair rising up on the arena floor. She leaned back with a sigh, slowly rubbing her face. She didn't fully want to be here, but it was better than being alone at least.

"And in three, two, one, begjn!" The announcer overhead shouted, the jade haired girl not taking note of who had said it. There was something else troubling her, and it wasn't just her friends.

This battle seemed off. Over the years she learned to trust what her eyes saw. It was an instinct burried deep within the Monomane clan. She leaned forward a bit, her eyes narrowing just slightly. To her eyes, she could tell the red head in golden armor was reacting to something that clearly wasn't there and the orange haired girl had no clue about it.

Her head shot up, looking all across the stands. Something was wrong. The stories of the previous competitor harming the other was bothering her now too. Her eyes then widened as she leaned back in her seat.

High up in the stands, she spotted Nihilus standing with crossed arms. The sleeves of his white hoodie were rolled up as he leaned against a wall. He was glaring at something. He was glaring at someone.

Kagami's eyes trailed his line of vision to a girl with darkened skin and green hair. Without even thinking, she shot to her feet and started to dodge her way between spectators.

Before she could reach her though, she stopped, her head snapping to the arena floor as the whole crowed gasped and let out a cry. Her eyes narrowed before widening at the sight. On the arena floor, the red head had her hands over her mouth while the girl with oragne hair, the machine with orange hair was cut into pieces.

She gulped, suddenly sprinting towards the girl with darkend skin. When she was only a few seconds away from her though, she blinked and suddenly, Nihilus was standing right in front of her. She gritted her teeth, her momentum sending her straight into him.

"You're too smart for your own good." Nihilus muttered, wrapping his arms around her and bearing hugging her tight. The two of them were suddenly standing on the outside of the coliseum. He stunbled a bit, not more than Kagami though.

As a bone chilling speach begin, one Kagami didn't even let herself take note of, she gulped heavily, the toes of her feet being the only thing standing on the edge of the floating battle arena. She gulped, her body leaning back extremely far. She was clutching onto Nihilus' wrist as he held onto the collar of her shirt.

"You have been a pest this entire time." His eyes narrowed, his fingers flexing. All he had to do was let go and Kagami would be sent plummeting to her death. "This is where I get rid of you once and for all."

Kagami gritted her teeth, eyes narrowing and locking with his. "Not this time." She muttered.


	39. When Darkness Falls

Kris woke to the sound of sirens going off in the distance. She groaned deeply, rolling around in her sister's bed. "What the hell..." She grunbled, shifting before wincing as her scroll began to go off. She gave a very deep sigh, sitting up. Her short red hair was messier than usual and her mascara had slightly run down her face from the night. She shook her head, ignoring the sirens before she reached over to grab her scroll. She yawned, answering the call. "Yeah?"

"Kris!" Jess' voice snapped from the device.

The younger red head blinked a bit, rubbing her eyes. "Jess? What's wrong?" She could tell their was panic in her older sister's tone.

"Kris!" There was a heavy grunt from the scroll before a large growl. There was then a animalistic yelp of pain followed by heavy breathing. "Kris! Where are you!?"

"I was sleeping... what's wrong?" She quickly tossed the blanket off her, sliding on her shoes as her head shot towards the window. "What's with the sirens!"

"The White Fang are letting Grimm loose into the school and fair grounds!" She shouted back. There was several sounds of cries in the distance followed by rushing footsteps. "Listen! You need to stay safe! I don't know what exactly is happening, but you need to stay safe!" She gave off a small grunt of pain suddenly. "Now I need to go! Kris..." Her voice lowered some. "Stay safe." The line then went dead, silence falling across the room.

"Jess..." Kris blinked a few times. "Jess!" She shook her head, quickly shoving her scroll into her pocket. For the first time in years, she bolted straight out the door without putting any makeup on at all. Her mind was racing a million miles an hour as she darted through hall after hall. Once outside, she skidded to a stop, looking all across at the mayhem taking place.

The darkened skies were filled with Griffons and Nevermores. In th distance, she could hear the roars of Creeps, Death Stalkers, Beowolves, and Ursas. She could even swear she heard the sounds of a King Tajitu slithering all around and causing death. Her eye simply widened as the cries of people overwhelmed any noise the Grimm could create. If anything at all, this was what she must assume hell to be like. She inahled, her nose hairs burning with the smell of death.

"Jess..." She quietly spoke, taking a small step back. Her eyes widened as she looked over, seeing a Boarbatusk charge up and spin directly towards her. "Oh nope!" She quickly shook her head, looking around. She jumped up, her back bending over the creature just enough for it to miss her.

She rolled across the ground a bit before quickly jumping to her feet. "Great, no weapon amd a hot head on my hands. Come on..." She pulled out her scroll, pressing a few buttons. "Just get here in enough time you damn locker." She took a deep breath, arms raising up as eyes narrowed.

Before hand, Elise was having fun on the fair grounds. Endlessly playing game after game. After the events of the previous night, she needed to keep her mind off things. There wasn't a better place to do so than the fair grounds.

"Alright, listen boy." The brunet smiled, helping a small young boy in a green cloak aim at a target with a toy water gun. "There is one important thing to know when aiming: you squeeze the trigger NOT pull it. Alright?"

The boy gave a small nod, his messy brown hair swaying a bit. "Kay." He narrowed his grey eyes, holding the water gun close.

"Okay... now aim carefully. Make sure you stay calm and don't worry about if you hit it or not. You want your hear beat slow which means you need to be calm." She stuck out her tongue, shutting one eye as she helped him aim. "Okay. Right there."

"Mhm." The little boy let out, licking his lips. Slowly, he squeezed the trigger, letting the gun shoot out a stream of water. The boy half jumped, moving back some.

Elise couldn't help but laugh softly. "There isn't even much kick in that!" She reached down, ruffling his hair. "Don't worry! I'm sure you'll get the hang of it! How about one more go?"

He gave a nod before flinching as he heard his mother calling out.

"Eren! Come on! Your father wants to go eat!"

He sighed softly, reaching up and handing the water gun to Elise. "Sorry... have to listen to my mommy or she won't let me have dessert."

The farm girl smiled, giving a nod. "It's alright. I understand. You'll definitely nail the shot the next time you try.

"Kay!" He smiled, turning around with a wave before running off to his mother.

Elise couldn't help but chuckled softly, placing some lien down at the booth she was at. "Alright. Let me have a go."

The old man at the booth gave a nod, snatching up the currency.

Elise took a deep breath, raising the gun as she took aim. She shut one eye, sticking out her tongue as she shifted her feet around. Slowly, she started to bring the trigger back with slow breathing. "And right..." She trailed off, the ground trembling as screams and sirens started to go off. "What?" She took a step back, looking all around. Her eyes then widened, seeing the largest Nevermore she had ever seen crash down upon the coliseum.

"Holy Oum..." She muttered, quickly scanning the fair grounds. As airships descended, Grimm burst through them and began to charge at anyone and everyone.

"Damn! This is bad!" She pulled out her scroll, quickly pressing several buttons before shoving it away. She brought the toy gun around, bashing it into the head of an Ursa.

Quickly, she jumped back, shooting a high pressured stream of water into its glowing red eye. The Grimm hissed in pain, taking several steps back. At the same time, Elise's locker crashed down behind her. She tossed the water gun away, reaching into her locker and grabbing her air-compressed rifle along with several cartridges. She quickly pulled out a red dart, loading it in.

"Let's see how you do..." She mumbled, taking aim.

As the Ursa stood back up, it glare over at Elise, letting out a rageful roar. With its mouth open, Elise fired her dart straight into the back of its throat. Instantly, the head of the monster blew off, leaving its body to collapse onto the ground and begin to decompose.

She took a deep breath, spinning around. Her eyes widened as she gulped, seeing the massive wave of Grimm coming in. She shook her head, charging straight into the madness. There were dozens of people who needed help.

Cheyenne had spent the night in MACE's dorm room, doors and windows locked. She sat in the corner, her Atlas rifle clutched tight. She was so close from panicking. Maya could very easily tell Ozpin that she was the traitor in the school. And who would believe a Faunus over a human? By the time morning came, there we bags under her eyes from a sleepless night. She kept her eyes locked on the door the entire time. She would have stayed sitting in the corner if it had not been for thr sirens that startled her outside.

She slowly stood up, gulping as she walked over to the window. Her brown eyes immediately went wide at the mere sigh of what was happening out there. She saw countless White Fang members and countless Grimm, all roaming and attacking those on the schoolyard. "What the hell..." She muttered, slowly taking a step back.

Her breath then hitched, as she quickly looked all around. Her sister, Maya, and everything else that had been happening in the past year was slowly coming together. This was their plan. This was the awful plan that would take so many lives. She gulped, silently cursing at herself. Her mind immediately went fo blaming herself. If she would have told Ozpin about her sister last night, then maybe all of this wouldn't have happened.

Her mind snapped out of it as she heard cries of pain and suffering from down below. She looked back out the window, eyes widening even more at the sight of Atlas gear being used against citizens.

She quickly shook her head, and despite the nerve wracking fear inside her, she went straight towards the door. She unlocked it, bolting out without even bothering to shut it. She darted down the halls, heart pounding. She didn't bother with the elavator as she rounded a corner and started to sprint down the stairs.

People were going to die because of the White Fang and her sister. Cheyenne couldn't sit around and do nothing if that was happening. She had to fight. She had to at least try to save some of them. Any of them.

Meanwhile, up in the Amity Coliseum, as a bone chilling speach began, one Kagami didn't even let herself take note of, she gulped heavily, the toes of her feet being the only thing standing on the edge of the floating battle arena. She gulped, her body leaning back extremely far. She was clutching onto Nihilus' wrist as he held onto the collar of her shirt.

"You have been a pest this entire time." His eyes narrowed, his fingers flexing. All he had to do was let go and Kagami would be sent plummeting to her death. "This is where I get rid of you once and for all."

Kagami gritted her teeth, eyes narrowing and locking with his. "Not this time." She muttered.

She slowly blinked, her eyes suddenly flashed the light blue of Nihilus' eyes.

The young man blinked once, eyebrows raising. But before he or Kagami could do anything, a bag of popcorn was suddenly placed over Nihilus' head.

As he let go and stumbled back, Kagami was just barely able to bring herself forward and stop herself from falling. She glanced down, breathing rapidly. She couldn't help but gulp as the screams and cries of the people down below. She quickly looked forward, trying to make sense of what just happened.

Standing several meters in front of her, the young boy she had saved during the breach was trembling slightly. Her tie she had given him was still tied tightly around her head like a bandana. He gulped some, looking over at her. "A-Are you okay...?" He whimpered.

"Bleue?" Her eyebrows raised as she stood up. Her eyes still a light blue rather than the pale tea green. "You shouldn't be here!" She shouted, glancing over as Nihilus took off the bag from his head, popcorn falling down all around.

She watched him draw the katana at his side and her breath stopped. Her eyes narrowed before the light blue flashed to gold.

She needed more than just to see someone's eyes to copy their semblance, she also needed to know what it was so she could properly use it. Thankfully, she finally figured out his.

Before Nihilus had time to fully pull out his weapon which was glowing with fire, Kagami was suddenly standing in front of him with heavy breathing. His weapon in her hand. She chucked it off the side, glaring back at him.

"Why you little..." Nihilus growled, his pale blue eyes narrowing at one's that were nearly identical to his.

"You can stop time..." She snarled. She did her best to remained calm on the outside, her insides already twisting around like mad as a painful headache began.

He growled louder, his own eyes flashing gold. When his did, so did Kagami's.

The world around the two of them immediately lost color, every spec of it draining to black and white. All except for the two of them. Seeing Kagami move, Nihilus' face turned to anger for the first time in a long while. "This is my world!" He snapped.

"Time belongs to no one!" She shot back as the both of them pulled back their fist.

Bleue took a step back, eyes wide in awe and fear at what was happening. To his veiw, Kagami and Nihilus would appear in one spot, dodging while throwing a blow, over and over. First they were to his right, then his left, right again, behind him, in font, and then the left again. He couldn't comprehend any of which was happening.

With time stopped again, near the edge of the floor, Kagami's breath had become rapi and the pain in her head had become fair too much. The colorless world faded into color just as Nihilus sent his foot into her chest. Her eyes reverted back to normal as she fell back, grunting in pain.

With equally heavy breathing, Nihilus had his hands on his knees to keep him up right. He was sweating while glaring at her. "You may... now what I can do... but you have no idea what it does to you..." He stood up straight, exhaustion written on his face. "You think stopping time doesn't come with a cost? You've most likely have used up all your aura just by using it!"

Too weak to do anything to defend herself, Kagami laid her head back on the ground, her hair going everywhere. She glanced over the ledge before looking up at him. So this was how she was going to die? She gulped, shutting one eye as she grinded her teeth together.

Nihilus growled once more, bringing up a foot to kick her off. Only standing on one foot and already tired, he was completely off balance. A moment later, Bleue came running straight into him, sending him off the ledge.

Blinking slowly, Kagami slowly sat up with wide eyes. "Whoa... okay kid..." She gave a nod, panting heavily with a smile. "You've earned a great amount of my respect..."

He looked over at her, gulping some. He went and tied the green tie around his head a little tighter before holding out his hand to help her up.

She smiled, groaning as she reached out and let him help her stand. "I think a blue tight sould suit you better..." She mumbled.

He shook his head no, smiling some. "Green... green is your color. And I like it more."

She softly chuckled, reaching down and ruffling his hair. "Alright-" She stopped herself, clutching into him as the floating fortress began to shake. "Shoot..." She nudged him a bit. "Okay... find your mother and get off here, okay?"

With wide eyes, he quickly nodded, running off.

Kagami looked back down below, gritting her teeth. The people down there would need more help then up here. She took a deep breath, taking a few steps back. She waited, eyes narrowing at passing by Griffons. She waited until one was close enough, then charged and jumped off the edge. She landed on its back, forcing its wings to fly it downward. "I need a ride down!" She shouted.

Making it out of the fair grounds, Elise was panting heavily. She checked her pouches, nearly out of ammunition. She took a deep breath, flinching as her scroll went off. She slowly pulled it out, blinking with concern at what came up. It was flashing, showing Kagami's aura in the red zone. She took a deeo breath, looking up at the coliseum. "Kagami..." She muttered quietly.

"So you know that brat, huh?" A wicked and bone chilling voice shot through the air.

Elise flinched, quickly turning around with goosebumps chilling down her spine. "You know her?" She asked, looking at a pink haired woman with bow.

"Please," Valentine's golden eyes light up in the darkness. "I'm the one who tortured her. She had some pretty pitiful screams if I must say so." She grinned.

There was a long pause, Elise's shoulders rising as they tensed up. "You're the one that hurt her..."

"I'm the one who's helped cause all this!" She waved her arms out. "And I am going to be the one who kills you." She grinned.

"Like hell!" Elise screamed, suddenly charging forward with her rifle raised. Tears were slightly filling in her eyes. "I'm going to kill you for hurting Kagami!"

"No, you're not." She shook her head, pulling out her bow.

As the two began to fight, Kris was panting softly while leaning up against her fallen locker. The Grimm around her all decaying. She took several deep breaths, clutching her candy cane weapons tight. She looked over, looking inside her locker. She started at the block of folded up wood with straps sitting inside it. She took a deep breath, reaching it in and strapping it across her back.

"Whether I hate you or not..." She sighed. "This will be helpful." She then jumped, half yelping as her scroll went off. She quickly took it out, eyebrows raising when she saw Kagami's aura reaching red. "What are you doing you dope..." She girtted her teeth, running off.

Coming up to the school yard, she stopped, hearing a cry of pain coming from the inside of a building. She looked through a broken window, eyes narrowed. Isnide, The small but demonic blonde girl known as Eri chuckled, blood splattered across her face. All around her were several dead Atlas shoulders with guns. "Aw, did you all get some ouchies? Sorry, I'm not a doctor."

"You..." Kris quietly mumbled, eyes wide.

Eri's head snapped back, glaring over at her. She then started to smile, walking towards the window. "You're that little ugly girl I never got to kill."

Kris hissed, quickly stepping back as Eri junped through the window. "Go to hell!" She shouted.

"Oh," The blonde chuckled with a shrug, flinging the blood from her claws off. "I already know I am going there. But I guess you get to go there first."

The red head gulped, her chest rising and falling. "I'm not going to let you kill anyone else."

"Oh sure, sure you will." She nodded back. "You'll gave to srop me from killing you first." She grinned, licking her weapon with red eyes glowing deadly.

In Beacon's courtyard, Beowolf after Beowolf was charging through. Team ARRW and team MVVV each doing their best to keep them from entering the school itself. Cheyenne ran put to the scene, skidding to a hault as she saw her twin. Her rapid breathing hitched as she started to step away. The three Varken brothers were in their giant rock monster form as Artie and his team shot arrows from impossible situations.

She gulped, trying not to get her sister's attention. She would have made it if her scroll hadn't gone off.

Maya quickly looked back, eyes narrowing at her sister. She immediately started in her direction.

Cheyenne's eyes went wide as she darted behind the building, stumbling on her feet. A sudden gust of air suddenly swept her off her feet, sending her face first into the ground.

With vengeful but still saddened eyes, Maya stepped up towards her, gulping as heavily as she could. Before the madness had begun, Valentine had sent her one last message: kill them all. She didn't want to, but orders were orders. She did not want to face her mother's wrath.

"Maya..." Cheyenne spoke softly as she stood up.

The human sister gulped, biting her lip. "Listen... I'm sorry... I truly am. I'm nearly positive you are a great person, but I have to do what has to be done."

Cheyenne gritted her teeth, suddenly placing her rifle down. She shook her head slowly. "I'll listen to whatever you have to say... I had all night to think about this, please? I am not going to fight my sister."

She gulped again, shaking her head. "There is nothing to explain."

The Faunus took a deep breath, her body tensing. "I want to understand why you are doing this!"

Maya pausedm her arms lowering some. They then quickly raised back up. "Because it was what I was told to do by the mother who raised me."

Cheyenne flinched at the words, gulping yet again. "I won't fight you. I don't want to."

"You don't need to." She muttered back, flinging her wrist as a gust of wind sent Cheyenne into the side of the building.

Kagami jumped off the Griffon just in time to roll onto the ground. She panted heavily, standing up. She quickly pulled out her scroll, typing away at it to send for her locker. "Come on..." She looked up, seeing the Grimm she rode down on charge at her. She gulped, shutting her eyes tight.

Before anything could happen though, the sound of the creature crying out erupted. When Kagami opened her eyes again, she smiled at the sight of long orange hair and armor. "Captain Caesar..."

The woman turned around, resting her blade on her shoulder. "Once again, here I am having to save your ass."

The jade haired girl gave off a soft chuckle, rubbing her head. "Yeah, yeah, thanks." She smiled.

"No problem." She smiled back, flipping her hair from her eyes with a nod. "It's what I'm suppose-" She stopped midsentance, eyes going wide with pain.

"Captain... Caesar?" Kagami raised her eyebrows. They then went wide, Julia's body falling forward. Behind her, with a bloody knife, Nihilus looked as if he was moments from passing out. "Twenty-three stabs wounds... to the back..." He ground, dropping the knife. "Let's see this savior of yours... live..." He suddenly fell back, collapsing out cold.

"Captain Caesar!" Kagami rushed over, kneeling down next to her as her locker came crashing down, opening up to reveal her sword. She slowly pressed a hand onto her back, sighing heavily in relief that she was still breathing. "Thank Oum..." She muttered, standing upright. It was then she heard a voice behind her.

"Nill?" Thanaton mumbled, walking slowly towards them. "Did... did you... hurt my brother?" Her eyebrows raised up before her purple eyes narrowed harshly with anger. "You hurt my brother."

Kagami gritted her teeth, looking down at Julia. She needed medical attention now. But there was no way the young lady of hatred origins would let her leave after seeing this. She took a very deep breath, reaching down and picking up Julia's sword before reaching into her locker and grabbing her own.

With a sword in each hand, she glared over at Thanaton. "I don't have time for this."

Thanaton snarled, cracking her neck. "You won't have time for anything when I am finished." She darted forward. "No one harms my brother! No one!"


	40. Divided We Fall

Eight years ago, Maya Borealis, from the naked eye, looked and acted as if she was the most absolutely ordinary child one could ever meet. She played ball with children on her street, met and talked with workers at local stores who would hand her pieces of candy for free from time to time. She even hated rainy days, wishing for the sun to appear so she could go outside and play hopscotch. She was you average child on the outside, but at night, all that seemed to change to a world filled with horror.

When darkness would fall across the sky, Maya would find herself training under a strict and relentless woman she came to know as her mother and punishment of harsh realities when she failed by the same woman. It was always the same old story: she was rescued from a poor village, one she would have undoubtedly died in, and brought her and raised with love and compassion by a woman named Valentine and her alter ego Val.

Not only was it just Maya who was brought in under the pink haired woman's care, but it was also a brother and sister who she came to know as Nihilus and Thanaton. Though she was never allowed to know the twins' origin, she knew it was something dark. The Aquilus siblings were definitely saved by Valentine from wherever they came from.

But while the two siblings usually kept to themselves and never left the abandoned building Valentine spent most of her days in, Maya came back and forth from a small house to the building. She may have been alone in the house during the day, but she enjoyed it. And at night when she went to the building, she would meet up with her mother and train until it was time for her to leave which would be when she would head back to the small house and sleep for the night.

It was the same everyday. Wake up, pretend to be normal, train, go to sleep, wake up and do it all over again. It all went easily, she grew up slowly having been told that stealing was fine as long as there was a good cause behind it, criminal activity was completely acceptable if you had a reason. And a revolution, well that was just enough to make a lonely girl who grew up in Mistral not knowing her parents to believe in.

There was just one simple thing she never could wrap her young mind around.

Murder.

She had heard her mother speak of it several times, explaining how people had to die for a new world to take place. Those in power would never let the world evolve if they did not die. But she still never understood it. And eventually, Valentine grew tired of that.

Ridder Gron was one of Maya's favorite combat instructors. Once a high ranking officer in Mistral's army, he soon found corruption in the fair Kingdom and left his position. Now a days, he could be found swindling money off any person of any age. Valentine picked him up off the streets one day, taking the man and giving him shelter and food in return for teaching her daughter how to fight. He became more of a parent to Maya than Valentine ever would.

"Come on, Mr. Grooon!" A young nine year old Maya groaned, glaring at the chess board in front of her. "Mother told you to go as hard as you can. You're suppose to be a master of strategy!"

Ridder shook his head, shaggy dark green hair hanging down as her wore a dark green suit. "Maya..." He trailed off, smiling as he raised his hand and picked up a pawn, placing it down. "I am child, I am. You're a rather impressive girl. You have the mind of a five star general and the combat skills of someone raised outside Kingdom walls. There is becoming less and less of what I could teach you."

"Pfff," She rolled her eyes. "Mother says I still have a long way to go before I can help her change Remnant."

"Indeed, I have." Valentine muttered, slowly stepping up towards the two.

Raising a hand, Ridder flashed a smile at her. "Ah, Miss Valentine, I was just explaining to your daughter how incredible she is. Young or old, she would impress all of my former crew members. I couldn't even imagine what more you need to have taught to her."

Nodding her head, the pink haired woman slowly looked over at her adopted daughter. "Well, I can't lie, she is rather impressive for not even hitting double digits. But she has a long way to go..."

"What more though?" His eyebrows raised up high.

"See, mother." Maya pointed over at Ridder. "He agrees too! I don't know what I'm not getting! I can fight toe to toe with some of your guys already and do crossword puzzles way better than them! What am I missing!? I'm ready to start a revolution!"

"No. You're not." Valentine took a deep breath. In the simple blink of an eye, her arm was outstretched with a small handgun in her hand. "There is one stupid thing you're not understanding." The barrel raised just between Ridder's eyes.

"H-H-Hold it..." He raised his hands up. "I haven't done a single thing wrong here. I've done what you asked. I've trained this little girl of yours to be your perfect partner, mentally and physically."

"No." She slowly looked over at him, her head tilting slightly. "You missed one very important detail."

The next second, there was a bang so loud that Maya would hear it for years to come. She jumped out of her seat, eyes wide as Ridder's body fell limp across the table. "M-Mr... Gron..." She gulped heavily, her eyes tearing up as her heart started to race.

Lowering down her weapon, Valentine looked down at the small girl before her. "You can't get close to anyone." She snarled to which Maya whimpered. "You have no idea who is going to die, when or where. If you are going to go to Haven and gain Lionheart's trust such as I have, you have to not get close to anyone. Including your team which you will be forced to become close to. They could die at any moment in our quest for a brighter world. Understood?"

Gulping heavily, Maya reached up to rub her eyes. "Y-Yes... m-ma'am..." She mumbled.

"Good." The pink haired devil turned on her heels, walking away. "Now clean up this mess and dispose of that piece of trash before it starts to stink."

"Y-Yes... ma'am..." Maya barely let out, slowly walking over to the other side of the chess board. She sniffed heavily, rubbing her eyes again. She couldn't help but tear up more at the sight of blood pooling. She shook her head, knowing how much more trouble she would be in if she cried. Ridder was a good man, even if he didn't seem like one. He was a good man to her.

Slowly, she reached over, taking her hand and shutting his eyes.

"I-I... I'm sorry..." She muttered very quietly under her breath, looking over at the chess board which the two were once playing. The pawn which Ridder has last placed down was knocked over, its white color stained in a bloody crimson red.

Now, in the present, Maya had her palms on the grass covered ground, spinning around as air picked up around her feet. She finally stopped her spin and kicked the air, a rapid rush of wind flying outward and slamming straight into Cheyenne.

The Faunus grunted, her arms crossed over her face as her feet skidded back against the dirt, dust kicking up. "Listen to me!" She shouted at the top of her lungs, panting softly. "I don't see your point in all this! Why do all of this!? Why let all these people die!? What could you possibly gain from killing hundreds!?"

She stared back at her twin sister, standing up straight with a deep breath. She glanced around some, reaching up and fixing the blue beanie on her head. "Because unlike you, I do what I am told, not matter what." Her head shot back towards her Faunus sister. "And I'm sorry to say you're in the way of what my mother wants. What I want." She darted forward.

Cheyenne grinded her teeth together, taking a deep breath as she tossed her arms down to her sides for emphasis. "But she isn't your mother! Whoever the hell raised you, she's not your mother! Your mother is my mother and she's dead!"

Maya skidded to a stop there, her arms slowly lowering just a tiny bit. "What...?" She muttered, her voice hushed.

She blinked a few times, slowly lowering her head down. "I meant to tell you before... but... I never found the right time to... I didn't even know how I would tell you... I really didn't even want to... I just-" She was gut off, a fist coming up and striking her in the chin. He head snapped upward, eyes wide.

"Shut it! She gave me away!" She snapped, eyes glaring harshly as her sister. She brought her other arm around, upper cutting with a harsh rush of wind. She snarled, backflipping and kicking upward with another blow of air. "Valentine saved me!"

Cheyenne groaned deeply, eyes shut as she was thrown up into the night air. Wind rushed past her face, her hair flying all around. With her teeth showing, she slowly opened one eye with clenched fist. "...Valentine..." She muttered softly to herself, letting the name etch its way into her mind.

The Faunus came crashing down, her back striking the ground with a heavy thud. All air was pushed from her lungs, her eyes widening as she gasped for air. With heavy coughing, she rolled over and pushed herself to her hands and knees. Slowly, she glanced over at her twin. "I'm sure mom loved you..."

"Then she wouldn't have given me away." Maya glared, baring her teeth. She took a few steps, raising her fist as rapid winds wrapping around them.

She then paused, hearing yelling in the distance. Familiar yelling. "What?" She raised her eyebrows, lowering her arms down. Her head snapped to the side, her light brown hair flowing softly.

"That... sounds like the Varken brothers..." Cheyenne panted, slowly pushing herself to stand.

Something flashed in Maya's eyes, her attention turning to the front of Beacon. She rounded the corner of the building they were behind, a hand resting on the side as she narrowed her eyes at the courtyard. Her eyes slowly widened, shoulders rolling back in shock.

"What is it...?" The Faunus slowly stumbled forward, an arm wrapped around her chest. Her body was aching like mad already and she barely had the strength to stand from the beating her twin sister had just given her, what worse could possibly happen?

Kris grunted, stumbling backwards with heavy breathing. She shook her short red hair, sweat forming and dripping down the side of her face. She raised her head, narrowing her green eyes as she held up her weapons. "I really don't like you..." She muttered.

The blonde in front of her chuckled softly, spinning around on her heels a bit. "You know, I can say the same for you." She grinned, red eyes piercing with a lust for blood. "You're nothing but a short little baby. And don't even get me started on your hair." She rolled her eyes.

Her eye twitched, clutching her candy canes extremely tight. "I... am going to rip your face off!" She shouted, pressing a button on her weapons as the blades shout out on the ends.

"You might want to wipe off that horrendous makeup first." Eri chuckled a little more, flinging her bladed gauntlet arms out. "Or I'll just give you a nice touch up myself! No need for your bloody double to do it! You'll die by my hands!" She moved a foot back. Taking off straight for the red head.

She barely had time to dodge, the sharpened edge of the blades slicing away at her crimson hair. She stumbled away, breathing as heavy as she could. "I will not die!"

"No, you'll perish. And no one is going to remember your ugly face!" Eri charged at her again, jumping up into the air and bringing her arms down.

Kris raised her weapons, making an x with them. There was a clink of metal as the weapons locked. She groaned deeply, her body slowly being pushed back from the sheer strength that the blonde before her possessed.

She chuckled, licking her lips with a wicked smile. "I am going to enjoy this." She muttered.

"Shut up!" The red head jerked back, sending her foot straight into the blonde's chest.

Eri stumbled back, growling softly. Her head jerked upward before she charged forward with incredibly speed.

When Kris went to dodge, she winced and shut her eyes, feeling the unmistakably sharpest weapon she had ever seen slide across her cheek. It wasn't deep, only a small scratch. Her aura should have been enough to protect her, but those weapons were definitely something else.

"Enough of this!" The blonde cried out, bringing her foot around. It struck Kris right where she had been cut, only making her winced more as she stumbled across the ground. Before she could get up though, Eri came crashing down on top of her, her elbow ramming into her rib cage.

The red head cried out in pain, rolling away while clutching her chest in pain. She coughed several times, groaning as her eyes clenched shut tight. That didn't last for long the, a moment later, three pointed blades were sticking out of her stomach. She blinked a few times, feeling nothing for a moment. She started, watching as blood slowly dripped down the sharpened metal and onto the ground. Her eyes then widened, filling with tears as she let out a scream.

"And now you die." Eri jerked her weapon out, aiming for the upper left side of Kris' chest. The red head collapsed on the ground, an arm holding her bleeding side tight. She looked up, on eye shut as she stared at her locker. She lowered her head down, closing her eyes. She let go of her weapons, holding out a shaky hand.

As the blonde drove both her weapons downward with a grin filled with enjoyment, it all vanished when a blur of green shaded wood unfolded into a human body on top of Kris, blocking the weapons. The blades went straight into it, lodging themselves in the wood as it lost its greed glow. Kris' arm fell flat on the ground as she panted.

"The hell!?" Eri snapped, pulling her arms up. As hard as she tried, she couldn't free her weapons from the wood.

"That's... the finest wood you'll ever find..." Kris muttered softly, lifting her head just a bit to glare back with one eye shut. "It's not going to break easily..."

Snarling deeply. the blonde released her gauntlets, letting the weapons and wood crash into the ground. "I'll still kill you..." She snarled as Kris gulped, trying to think of what to do next.

While Kris seemed to be having the worse day ever, Elise was having it far worse. Having no idea what she was up against, when she charged at the pink haired woman, she was easily blocked and thrown off to the side. Her feet were just centimeters away from the edge of the cliff.

"I honestly expected a lot more." Valentine sighed, shaking her head softly. "Shame."

"Shut up!" Elise snapped, bolting forward again. She clutched her rifle tight, gripping it like a baseball bat. She brought it around, aiming for her side and blinded by rage.

She sighed, reaching out and catching the gun with just one hand. "Disappointing." She jerked the weapon away, Elise's eyes wide as she lost grip.

The brunet growled, reaching for her baton as Valentine tossed her weapon aside. "Shut up!" She twirled her baton, holding it tight as she aimed for her face.

With another deep sigh, Valentine riased both her hands and caught it. Glaring back into Elise's green eyes with her own golden ones, she smiled, tilting her head. "You clearly have a death wish. You came to the right place." She brought her knee up, ramming it into Elise's chest.

She instinctively let go of her baton, stumbling back with wide eyes. She gasped, coughing as she tried to catch her breath. "D-Damn you..." She snarled.

"You should have let yourself fall off that cliff." She smiled back, tossing the baton away as she reached back and grabbed an arrow to notch onto her bow. She took aim, releasing it in a split second.

Elise ducked down, the arrow gliding through her hair. She ran forward, eyes ablaze with anger. She only took a few steps before she had to duck out of the way, barely missing another arrow. It came so close she could have sworn the tip of the arrow had a special design to them.

She shook her head, lunging forward. She wrapped her arms around Valentine, tackling her down. "I won't let you get away with hurting Kagami!"

"Oh dear," The woman with pink hair sighed, grunting softly as her back struck the ground. Her face didn't even flinch as she reached up, grabbing a handful of Elise's hair. "You're even more rowdy than that freak. I knew I should have listen to my instincts and killed her when I had the chance. But no, Maya had to talk me into letting her live."

"Maya...?" Elise slowly lifted her head up, her eyes shutting tight as she was torn off the woman by her hair and sent scrambling across the ground. Before she even stopped tumbling, a foot struck her stomach, making her eyes go wide as she spat out.

"Great." Valentine sighed. "Now I do have to kill you."

Meanwhile, with a roaring cry, Kagami slashed at stone after stone that was tossed at her, each exploding into a ball of flames as she stepped forward.

"I'll never forgive you for harming my brother!" Thanaton snapped, juggling small pieces of debris around in her hands before chucking them forward.

"He only has hinself to blame!" Kagami panted, slaming both her sword and Julia's sword together and gripping them with both hands. "He attacked me first! And you people caused all this!"

"I didn't cause it... though I wish I had." She paused for a moment before shrugging as she threw a large piece forward, letting her semblance take over and cause it to tick. "It's a brilliant idea! Long live the revolution!"

Kagami gritted her teeth, letting out a cry as she swung the two swords around. She let them twist in her hands a bit, showing the flat side towards her opponent. She took a deep breath, using all the strength in her already weak body to hit the debris with the flat side of the swords, sending it back to where it came from.

"Aw, sh-" Thanaton was cut off, the debris exploding in her face. When the smoke cleared, she was rubbing her head while pushing herself up. "O-Ow!" She glared up at Kagami. "That really hurt!"

Kagami let off a soft sigh, her shoulders dropping down some. "Once again... you attacked me first..."

The screech of a Griffon interrupted the two's fight before another step could be made. Both females looked over, watching as the demonic beast landed its sharp talons next to the ground where Nihilus and Julia laid.

As Thanaton yelled at the top of her lungs, Kagami grinded her her teeth against one another before flashing them. She separated the two blades, twirling them a bit. She wasn't thinking at the moment, she was going off of instinct. In her left hand, she tossed Julia's blade through the air, letting it pierce the red glowing eye of the Grimm. Not even so much as hesitating, she twirled her own sword in her right, aiming for the beast's neck as it stumbled back. She let the blade once again fly from her hand, striking the Griffon down. It stumbled away more before crashing down onto its back.

With heavy breathing, Kagami slowly stood up straight, gulping as she looked to her side. She then flinched, seeing the sighed of the purple haired young lady.

"You... saved my brother." Thanton mumbled softly.

She gulped, slowly nodding. "I have no intent... of letting anyone else die..." She softly spoke.

Thanton looked over at her, her eyebrows furrowed. "I..." A second later, she had Kagami gripped by the shoulders, her eyes narrowed and cold. "Never again will this happen. The next time I see you. I will kill you. Understood? I am only sparing your useless life because you spared his."

Kagami blinked a few times, her breathing still heavy. She then grunted, hunching over as Thanton's fist drove straight into her stomach. She clenched her eyes shut tight, groaning deeply.

"Understand!" She rammed her fist into her stomach again, not letting Kagami regain her composer. "The! Next! Time! I! See! You! I! Will! Kill! You!" She gave a harder and harder blow to her with each word she spoke.

Kagami was hunched over across Thanaton's shoulder, eyes shut tight as she struggled to breathe even the tiniest bit. She had felt her aura vanish with the last blow. She groand deeply, her body falling limp on the ground when she was let go. Slowly, she ended up curling up, coughing heavily.

There was a pause of silence as Thanaton picked up her brother, glancing back at the green haired girl. She softly sighed, looking away with a clenched jaw. "Thank you... though..." She spoke softly, walking off.

Kagami lifted her head up softly, looking with one eye shut at the two. She went to stand, her body falling back down onto the ground. Her vision started to blur, her eyes slowly shutting as her world faded to black.

Maya's eyes were fixed on and wide at the scene in the courtyard. Minutes before, as the Varken brothers and the members of team ARRW fended off Beowolf after Beowolf from entering the school, a few students slowly came out stumbling in blood.

"Help! Please!" One boy panted, hand resting on the side of the doorway with an arm wrapped around his chest. "My friends! They're hurt inside!"

"Go on in." Prac muttered, turning to face the four boys.

Fid nodded, agreeing with his brother. "I agree. Go on and help them."

"We will be fine." Fif glanced back with a smile.

The four archers all looked at each other, nodding.

"Take care, then." Artie flashed a smile, bolting inside. "Those Grimm are some mighty beastly things!" He chuckled softly, his teammates following behind.

"Alright boys." Prac smile, glancing at the small size Beowolves in front of them. "Let's rock this!" He roared, slamming his rock covered fist together.

Shooting fire from his fist at the chest of the Grimm, Fid chuckled softly. "Already lighting this up!"

"Guys..." Fif sighed, sending water and slashing at the feet of Beowolves with high speed water. "Enough with your puns." He grinned a bit. "They're rushing over me."

The other two brothers rolled their eyes, sighing softly. Prac's eyes then widened, a hand out stretching towards his youngest triplet brother. "Fif! Look out!"

The still chuckling softly brother raised his eyebrows, blinking a few times as drool slowly dripped onto his shoulder. Fif looked up slowly, eyes widening at the large Alpha Beowolf standing above him with an open mouth. It snarled deeply, giving off a roar.

"No..." Fif's eyes widened in fear. This couldn't be the end, not here, not now. "NO-" He let out, his large and muscular arms flailing. A second later, his body was completely consumed by the mouth of the creature of darkness and gulped down with some struggle.

Prac stood still in horror for a moment, his mind processing what had just happened. He wasn't even comprehending the fact that his brother had just been swallowed whole. But before he could even respond to the situation, Fid was charging forward at the Grimm with eyes and arms ablaze.

"F-Fid! No...!" The eldest cried, holding out his arm before lowering it once again, very slowly this time.

"I'll kill you, you bastaaard!" Fid cried out, driving a fiery fist into the Beowolf's face.

It snarled back, jerking its head around. It brought its paw up, slashing Fid down onto the ground. As he groaned and rolled over, the Grimm pounced, pinning the middle Varken brother to the ground.

With now wide and fearful eyes, Fid started to tremble under the monster's massive grip. His fear of death over taking him and causing him to remain as still as he could. He winced, feeling blood drip down from the Beowolf's mouth and down onto his face.

It snarled, leaning its head down directly in front of Fid's head.

"Y-You... son... of..." He trailed off, eyes widening in pure horror. He had heard stories of how dying was a rather peaceful thing, but that was after the initial pain of dying itself. Plus, the fear of dying was even worse to have. Knowing your life was about to end, staring into your own death itself caused a sensation of fear unlike any other. He hadn't been raised into believing in religion, any religion at all, which meant to him, once he dies there would be nothing afterwards. He would simply die, like how his brother just died, and nothing would be left. He wasn't ready. His brother hadn't been ready. He didn't want to die. "I'll bring you to hell with me!" He shouted, letting his body light up in flames as the Beowolf reached down, snapping her jaw shut around the burning boy.

Prac slowly stepped away, his body trembling in every way. He slowly collapsed down to his knees, his hands digging into the ground below. "N-No... no... that... that didn't just happen..." He felt his eyes tearing up as the Beowolf who ate his brothers slowly started to burn up from the inside, coughing out smoke.

Maya watched with trembling hands, her eyes swelling up woth tears. She reached up, hands moving over her mouth. "F-Fid... F-Fif..." She gulped heavily, sniffing heavily.

Cheyenne couldn't find the words to speak, glaring down at the ground with teary eyes. "That thing... just ate them... like they were nothing..." Her jaw clenched as she shot her head up. "I hope you're happy with yourself!" She snapped in a harsh tone for once. "They were amazing and great-!" She was cut off, Maya tackling her to the ground.

"I know they were great!" She brought her fist back, striking her sister in the face. "I lived with them for a year! I learned with them! I fought with them!" She brought her other fist around, tears dripping down her face.

It was at that moment that it hit Cheyenne, not just Maya's fist, but the fact her sister wasn't looking for death at all. She wasn't distorted and a criminal. She was simply following orders by someone who probably beat obedience into her. She had a heart deep down, and she cared for people, especially her friends. If anything, she needed help.

As Maya threw punch after punch, she eventually stopped as the ground began to shake. She ceased her blows, looking up sowly. Her eyes then widened at the sight of a giant Grimm Dragon bursting through rock and flying out with a piercing cry. She gritted her teeth, slowly standing up with shaky limbs. "I-I... I can't do this anymore..." She muttered softly, shaking her head, tears flying off, before she bolted away and into the woods.

Cheyenne groaned softly, her body slowly rolling over. She needed to stand, but her body was far too weak. So, she didn't the only thing she could think of at the moment. "Praaac!" She cried out to the weeping brother, doing her best to rise to her feet. "Help! Please!" She was hoping her same voice as her sister would come in handy for the first time. And luckily, it did.

As the remaining Varken brother rose to his feet to aid Cheyenne, Kris was grunting in pain with each passing second. The bloody wound on her torso was seeping out, staining her black hoodie which was already torn. She stumbled away, barely standing anymore with one eye half shut.

"You hold up a lot longer than I gave you credit for..." Eri half chuckled, growing tired herself. She stumbled a bit, feeling the ground shake. "The hell?" She looked up, eyes widening at the flying beast in the sky.

The large Grimm even distracted Kris, causing her eyes to drift from the blonde in front of her. The next thing she knew, she felt a blow strike the side of her face. A white light flashed in her eyes as she collapsed down onto the ground, pain overtaking her, she rolled around a bit, looking up at the blonde.

"Now... you die." She took a deep breath, kneeling down on top of her as her fingers wrapped around Kris' neck.

The red head squeezed her eyes shut tight, letting off small noises. This was going to be it. Death by a snot nose blonde girl even shorter than herself. That was great. Purley great. Though, as her mind should have gone to what would happen next, it instead drifted to her friends. The last she saw of them, they had shouted at each other non-stop, and for what? She didn't even know. And now she was about to die without even letting them know that she...

Eri was suddenly tackled off by a gold and red blur. Kris rolled over, coughing and gasping for air in pain.

"Get the hell off my sister!" Jess shouted, the blonde girl stumbling away.

"Damn..." Eri muttered, growling softly at her weaponless arms. "This isn't over!" She roared, stepping away. She sprinted away, snatching up the wooden dummy with her weapons lodged inside before bolting away.

Jess would have gone after her, but the second she saw her sister injured, she slid right down next to her, picking her up gently. "Come on now... hang in there. I should have known something was wrong when you didn't call back."

Kris whimpered softly, curling up in her sister's arms. She shut her eyes, suddenly bursting into a quiet sob filled with tears.

"Don't worry..." Her older sister took a deep breath, sighing slightly. "I got you now... I got you."

Kagami's vision slowly started to return as the ground trembled below her. She groaned softly, rolling around while coughing. Her body felt like it was burning on fire. She slowly pushed herself up, groaning in pain. She would have let her body fall back down if she hadn't seen Julia's body in the corner of her eye. She took a deep breath, forcing herself up despite all the pain. She walked over, taking off her hoodie very slowly and placing it around the orange haired woman.

"H-Hang in there... Captain Caesar..." She mittered softly, grunting as she picked up Julia and the two swords, walking towards the noisiest sound of civilization that she could. She wouldn't last long. She knew thay for sure.

As she marched forward, Prac sat on the ground next to a group of soldiers with Cheyenne at his side.

"Thank you..." She muttered softly to the older brother, waiting for him to respond. When he didn't, she sighed and looked away. She couldn't blame him. She wouldn't want to speak after that either after that. She sighed again, looking down before hearing a familiar voice.

"Cheyenne...?" Kris slowly muttered, looking over her sister's shoulder.

"Kris." The Faunus' eyes widened as she quickly stood. She immediately regretted the decision, dropping back down.

Kris bit her lip, moving her head to look over at her sister. Jess sighed softly, giving a slow nod as she carried her younger sister over. The small red head couldn't help but tear up a little as she came close to Cheyenne. Both girls and Jess looked over suddenly though, hearing an unmistakable voice.

"Medic! Now!" Kagami cried, heavy breathing as someone took Julia as well as the captain's sword off her arms.

"Bloody hell!" Jess gently set her sister down, bolting over towards her captain. "Julia!"

As she ran off, Kagami slowly stepped over towards Cheyenne and the others. Her eyebrows slowly raised, looking over at Prac. Cheyenne quickly shook her head no to which Kagami simply abided by. "Where's... Elise then?" She gulped some.

At the same moment, Kris scroll went off. The small red head slowly reached in, pulling out the device. Her eyes slowly widened as she gulped. "Whever she is... she needs help..." She slowly held out her scroll, showing that Elise's aura had been knocked down to zero.

"No..." Kagami's eyes widened. Clutching her hoodie tight in her right hand and her sword in her left, she turned and bolted away.

"Wait!" Cheyenne went to stand, wincing as she slowly had to sit back down. "You're in... no condition to fight..." She gulped.

Kris was breathing softly, slowly shutting her eyes as she leaned onto Cheyenne's shoulder. "None of is are now... none of us..."

Meanwhile, Elise grunted heavily, spitting uo blood as her back slammed into the ground below. She had completely ignored the giant Dragon Grimm above, her mind in too much of a blur. Every second after another she was struck and sent flying away. Her anger had gotten the best of her, that much she knew for sure now.

"You're nothing but a useless ant, do you know that?" Valentine chuckled, walking towards her.

"Sh-Shut up..." The brunet mumbled, looking up. She then grunted, Valentine kicking her in the face and sending her rolling away. Her body stopped near the edge of the cliff, her nose bleeding down the side of her face.

"I'd rather not." She smiled, giving a shrug. "I'm just trying to explain the truth to you before you die." She knelt down, eyes locking with Elise's teary eyes. "There is no hope for you. You. Are. Going. To. Die." She chuckled softly. "This is the end of the line for you, girl." She stood up. She brought her foot back, aiming for her chest. "And next, I'll go after those worthless friends of yours. Starting with that green haired girl."

Elise snarled, trying to push herself up. "Go... to hell..." She coughed, spitting out blood.

As Valentine smirked, she swung her foot forward, aiming for Elise's chest. Though, her foot never made contact.

Sprinting from the distance, Kagami suddenly slammed her body straight into Valentine's. She dropped her hoodie and sword, letting them fall to the ground. As she and the pink haired woman started to descend off the cliff, Kagami glanced back at Elise, gulping mouthed two words: I'm sorry. At that, she fell off along with Valentine.

"Kagami!" Elise's eyes widened as she rolled over a bit, watching the two figures grow smaller and smaller until they struck water and were swallowed up. "N-No..." She breathed heavily, tears streaming down her face once again. This triggered memories in her mind, rmembing how Kagami once said she couldn't swim. "No... Kagami..." She bit her lip, sniffing.

She then gritted her teeth, rolling over to her hands and knees. She slowly stood, stumbling forward and almost collapsing. She reached down, picking up her leader's hoodie and weapon with a very weak grip. Kagami wasn't dead. She couldn't believe it. She needed to find her teammates and pray to Lord Oum that they weren't still mad. Kagami was not dead. There was a fire in her eyes and Elise knew it wouldn't be extinquished that easily. Kagami needed help.

And the three of them would find her.


	41. Hidden Truths

High up in the darkened skies above, as the cries of Grifins and Nevermores shook the entire kingdom of Vale, the large Wyvern took off with a strong push of its wings that sent it forward and gliding through the air.

Its gigantic body shifted underneath the force of its wings, its weight unnaturally balanced as it pushed downward with its bloody red wings to send itself flying forward a little bit faster and harder.

The left wing rose just slightly as the right lowered downward, its whole body turning to the side as it preformed an entire a hundred and eighty degree turn to face where it had taken off from at the start of its flight.

The Grimm dragon flapped its wings down again, an uproar of wind being caused from its actions. It took off forward, flying faster and faster as it flapped its wings once more.

With a piercing battle cry, it suddenly drove straight into the top of Beacon tower, colliding with glass and metal. What was once the walls to Professor Ozpin's office was now either in ruins on its floor or in shatters and falling down towards the ground below.

Elise had seen the whole thing and even stopped to watch the terrifying sight. She had no words to even explain the scene she had just witnessed. Not only was that the largest Grimm she had ever seen, but it seemed very intelligent. It struck the building at its week points between the windows. It was like the Wyvern knew exactly what it was doing.

"Oh my Oum..." Was all she could think of saying as she watched the dragon perch on the side of the destroyed building. Madness. This was complete and utter madness. She would have continued to stare, but she was snapped out of her daze as a sharp stabbing pain shot through her side.

She groaned deeply, shaking her head as she slowly started to walk again. She was still so badly hurt and her body was still screaming in so much pain. She knew it wasn't that much farther, she could even see a line of airships preparing to leave the academy with several upon several hundred people in need of evacuation, but it still felt like forever away.

By the time Elise stumbled up towards an airship, many of them were already jammed packed full. She made her way to the entrance hatch, waving off a few soldiers who asked if she was alright, and stepped inside with shaky legs and a body that could barely support itself.

As fate would have it, when she collapsed onto the ground and leaned against the wall, just as her head titled back and she blinked, her vision caught the sight of a boy who was as large as her father. Her eyebrows raised slowly as her head shifted slightly. There, on the other side of the ship, through the mass of panicked and injured people, Cheyenne was sitting on the ground, beaten and bruised, with Kris laying her head on the brunet's lap. Her stomach was bandaged up, showing a slowly forming red blotch. Next to them stood Prac, his arms crossed as he glared towards the ground.

It took all the strength Elise had left to once again stand and push herself through the swarm of people. Halfway in the middle of the crowed, she could have sworn she was going to collapse. The only thing that kept her going was the fact she didn't want the last encounter with her friends to be the fight they had.

Brushing some of Kris' red hair out of her eyes, Cheyenne was breathing softly as she watched the younger girl. She then saw a pair of boots and brown pants step in front of her. She blinked once, slowly raising her head before her eyes widened. "Elise..."

The farm girl gave a faint smile, one that quickly vanished as she dropped Kagami's sword and hoodie, collapsing onto the ground with a grunt.

Kris slowly opened her eyes, shifting slightly as she looked over. Her breathing was deep and heavy, but going at a slow pace. She blinked a few times, her green eyes adjusting to the light before her vision cleared up to show Elise curled up on the ground in front of her. "E-Elise...?"

She chuckled softly back, half smiling. "Hey, shortie..."

The red head groaned softly, narrowing her eyes. "Meat head..." She grumbled, shifting around a little more. There was a moment of silence between the two before she gulped, biting her lip as her eyes started to tear up. "I was worried... you idiot... your aura completely vanished and... we're basically in the middle of a war..."

Elise chuckled a little more, groaning as she rolled onto her back and took several deep breaths. "Says the one bleeding from the stomach..."

"At least my nose is bleeding like hell..." She flashed a grin over in her direction.

"Well... at least my jacket isn't filled with who knows how many holes..." She smiled back.

With a soft chuckle, Kris rolled her eyes. "Least my jacket ain't shredded like cheese..."

"Yeah... okay..." Elise sighed softly, glancing down at the jacket her father had given her. Thanks to those arrows, it was now shredded all over. She sighed again, curling up some.

Silence fell across them once again, only to be broken this time by Cheyenne. "Well..." The Faunus sighed, leaning her head back some. "Where's Kagami at, Elise? She looked pretty banged up before going to search for you..."

"She's..." Elise trailed off, shutting her eyes before she took a deep breath. "She's not dead... but I don't know where she is... she sorta... fell of the cliff saving me..."

"So she's dead?" Prac spoke up, still glaring at the ground.

"No... no, I didn't say that..." She looked up at him. "She's not dead... she can't be... she's somewhere out there... and we'll find her-" She was cut off by Prac snapping at her.

"If she fell off a cliff, that means she's dead!" He roared, tossing his arms to his sides. "You can't just go on a wild chase after her! You have to accept the fact she's dead!"

Elise gulped some, averting her eyes from him. "She's not dead... she's too stubborn to die..."

He scoffed, his muscles flexing as he looked away. "Dumb ass."

"Prac!" Cheyenne gritted her teeth some. "Enough. Elise knows Kagami better than any of us... the least we could do is hear us out."

"For what?" He looked over at her, eyes narrowing. "False hope in believing someone you love isn't really gone?"

"Prac, listen..." She trailed off, wincing as he shouted.

"Shut up!" He snapped. "You don't get to have a say in this! The hell do you even know about losing someone!?"

Cheyenne gulped, slowly looking down and shutting her eyes.

Kris growled softly, moving only slightly. "Don't yell at her... I can still kick your ass if I wanted to..."

Prac snarled back, glaring down at her. "You can shut up too."

It took several seconds for Elise's mind to process what had happened. After a bit, it finally hit her. She slowly looked towards Cheyenne, gulping. "His... his brothers and Maya... were killed...?"

"Maya." Prac head suddenly shot up, his eyes wide. With Fid and Fif's death, he had completely forgotten about her.

Seeing the panic in his eyes, Cheyenne sighed again, gulping heavily. "Don't worry, Prac... she's still alive..."

"What do you mean? Where is she!?" He turned to face her, eyes wide.

Silence fell across the four of them once again, this time it lasted for well over a minute before Elise spoke up. "So that woman wasn't lying when she said she was with her...?"

"With who?" Prac snapped his head towards her.

"What woman...?" Cheyenne spoke softly. "Valentine?"

She gave a slow nod back, looking down at Kagami's hoodie before pulling it close. "If she's the one who hurt her... then yes..."

"Someone explain now!" Prac suddenly demand.

Cheyenne went silent again before slowly looking up. "You might want to sit down..."

Though she didn't want to, Cheyenne began to explain the slow realization of her twin's true alignments in the battle of good vs evil. Everything from after all of MACE fighting to the very end when Maya ran off into the woods. She apologized several times, saying she should have told him, told him and his brothers what she had been doing, but she was far too afraid too. In her mind, she felt responsible for the two youngest Varken brothers deaths. She might have stopped it if she had told someone. And Prac's response to this didn't help much either.

"You knew... a-and you didn't tell me..." Prac's voice was shaky and small. Then, he growled. "Did you not think I deserved to know!?" His heart suddenly became conflicted unlike any heart before. For the past year, ever since he saw Maya. There had always been something special about her that he adored. But now, now she was the reason his brothers were dead.

With built up rage bubbling, he twisted around on his heels and without so much as another word, he stormed away with enough force fo push anyone out of the way.

"Pr-Prac..." Cheyenne half whimpered, trailing off.

Kris sighed, reaching over to slowly grab her hand. "Don't worry... I don't blame you..."

"I would have probably done the same thing... we have all just had a long day..." Elise mumbled.

The Faunus sniffed softly, reaching up to rub her eyes. "Thanks guys... my sister... she just needs some help and guidance..."

"And we'll do that..." Kris muttered.

Once again, neither of them found the worss to speak. Eventually, the airship began to take off as Elise slowly rolled over onto her stomach. "Hey... Kris..."

"Yeah...?" The red head groaned softly.

"I'm sorry... about accusing you..." She glanced up at Cheyenne. "And I'm really sorry about accusing you... I should have known how much it would hurt you by saying you were apart of the White Fang still..."

"And... I'm sorry for a lot..." Kris muttered quietly with a gulp. She bit her lip, shutting her eyes. "Honestly... hunting isn't bad as long as there is a good reason behind it... like those who kill for sport... that's not good... but... the way you and your family use every last peice of the animal and actually need it to eat... I can accept that... it happens in nature all the time..."

Elise smiled softly, clutching Kagami's hoodie tight. "I've accepted you don't eat meat... I'm just happy you accepted I do..."

Cheyenne's vision blurred a bit before she reached up and brushed tears away. "Are you sure... Kagami is still alive...?" She bit her lip.

"Yeah..." Elise nodded softly and then smiled a little more. "And she's sorry about everything too..."

In a dark and damp cave, Kagami slowly started to stir awake. She was freezing cold, her entire body soaking wet as her hair stuck to her face. Her cold limbs didn't help the pain she felt either. Slowly, she opened her eyes, groaning softly as the veiw of a fire came into her vision. She slowly scooted closer towards it, breathing in and out deeply.

She glanced outside the gave, groaning even more as she saw the sun rising in the horizon filled eith trees. "What... the hell... happened...?" She groaned, rolling onto her back. The last thing she remember was shoving a pinked haired woman off a cliff, having her hit her as she fell, and then striking water and going uconcious. She couldn't even comprehend how she was here. Or alive.

After several minutes of laying on her back, she reached up, rubbing her face before she slowly sat up and stood. It took her a few moments to gain her balance. She shook her head softly, stepping out of the cave with half shut eyes into the light.

Taking in a deep breath of air, she partially smiled and looked outwards towards several trees. Hearing footsteps, her head snapped in the other direction. That was when she saw her. The woman with pink hair stepping out of the woods with an armful of firewood.

Before she even had a chance to look up, Kagami was suddenly on op of her, despite the pain. "You must have a lot of nerve!" She snapped, firewood flying everywhere. With on hand o her neck, Kagami brought her other arm back and clenched a tight fist.

Then, she heard a whimper as the woman slowly opened one eye. "Pl-Please... I-I know what she did... but please..."

Kagami would have normally fallen through with her punch, but the fact this woman's eyes were different threw her off. They were blue and filled with pain and suffering. It wasn't thw golden ones she remembered from falling off that cliff that was seeking death.

"Who... are you...?" She spoke softly.

She gulped some, slowly shifting away from her before sitting up. "I-I... I'm Val, Val N. Tina... the person who was harming your friend... and hurt you... that was Valentine." She gulped again. "The impact of the water must of made her lose control, which means I get my body back, and you were sinking so I dragged you out of the water and broght you here and..." She took a shaky breath. "I-I'm sorry... I-I understand if you want to try and kill me... I get that... it's just... it's complicated..."

"There's two souls inside you, isn't there?" Kagami asked.

"N-Not exactly. It's more of..." She trailed off, gulping again.

"Tell me..." She groaned, slowly standing back up. She stumbled some, heading towards the cave. "But by the fire..."

"H-Here..." Val jumped to her feet, helping Kagami back inside. When she set her down, she sat down across from her. There was a long pause before oshe gulped and looked up. "You can't get mad... or scared and freak out, okay?"

"Sure thing..." She nodded, laying down on the ground.

Val took a deep breath, looking around before she looked into the fire, the flames dancing in her blue eyes. "There is a sadistic Grimm inside my body... and an evil witch lady put it here... and she has magic and wants more..."

Kagami blinked once before giving a small shrug. "Okay. So there is essentially two beigs fighting for control of your body... and the one that hurt me and my friend and all those other people are a Grimm..."

"U-Uh... y-yeah." She raised her eyebrows. "You're taking this surprisingly well..."

"Well see..." She shrugged again. "There is magic inside me... and you're clearly not the same person... your eyes explain that..."

"Uh... kay..." Now with an extremely confused look on her face, she shook her head and looked away. "O-Okay..."

"Say..." Kagami took a deep breath, about to fall asleep. "You want some help getting that Grimm out of you...?"

Val looked back, her blue eyes wide. "W-Wait... you'd really help me...?"

Kagami gave a small shrug, smiling back. "Sure... you're not the monster... the thing inside you is... so... do you want help...?"

"Y-Yes..." She sniffed, feeling tears blur her vision. She reached up, rubbing her eyes. No one ever offered her help before and no one ever dared even question ot take into observation that she and Valentine were different. "I would love help..." She trailed off, looking down. She just didn't know how to accept it. "But... but first... I'm going to set up a smoke signal... so someone can find you... I can't be seen... you may see a difference, but everyone else doesn't..."

"Alright..." She shut her eyes, starting to drift off. "I'll get that demon out of you, Val..."

"Th-Thanks... Kagami..." She muttered back.

Not even questioning how she knew her name, the girl with jade hair drifted off into some still needed sleep. Later on that day, she groaned to the sound of footsteps. As her eyes opened, her vision unblurred, showing in the opening of the cave three outlined figures.

Elise took a deep breath, smiling at the sight of her leader. With the wind blowing loose strands of her hair around, she stuck her hands in the hoodie pocket of Kagami's hoodie which she was now wearing. On her left, Cheyenne couldn't help but smile just as much as Elise and on her right, Kris stood with bandages around her stomach, fresh and clean bandages and a green t-shirt. She looked back, calling out to her sister, Jess, that they had found her.

Elise took a step forward, entering the cave. "You know," She flashed a grin. "I really like this hoodie."

Kagami gave a soft chuckle, shaking her head as she shut her eyes. "I need some tea..."


	42. Aftershock

Watching the outside pass by through the window of an airship, Kagami sighed, lowering her head down as she leaned back, clutching a cup of warm tea in her hands. She had to look away from the city that was now in tatters. Smoke was still rising up from some of the buildings in the distance.

"So... Beacon has fallen along with the world's next generation of Hunstmen and Huntresses... Vale is in a war zone with Grimm and criminals raging... countless people have been killed and are injured right now... Fid and Fif are dead and Prac's ran away back to Mistral... Maya is some double agent who had us all fooled but actually does care for us... and Valentine is actually some innocent woman named Val who was thrown into hell..." She sighed again, her shoulders dropping as she shut her eyes. She let her head lower until her face was over her cup and let the steam rise up through her nostrils. "I'd liked everything a year ago a lot better..."

She opened her eyes, looking up at her teammates. Elise and Cheyenne were both standing, leaning up against opposite walls while Kris was sitting down and leaning back with an arm around her injured stomach.

"And to make things even worse," Kagami leaned back until she was laying down. She gently rested her cup of tea on top of her chest, breathing softly. "I was such a damn jack ass!" She clutched the cup tight and for a moment, it looked as if it was about to shatter.

The area team MACE was in fell silent, the sound of the engine roaring and the wind rushing outside was the only noise that succeeded in breaking the silence for a very long time. Finally, Cheyenne slowly lifted her head, looking up. "It's not your fault..." She spoke quietly.

"It was all of ours in the end..." Elise added, wrapping her arms around herself, still wearing Kagami's hoodie.

Their leader blinked slowly, lifting up her head slightly to look at her team. She softly sighed, laying her head back down while staring up at the roof. "I should have known you weren't still working for the White Fang, Cheyenne. And I shouldn't have gotten so mad for you reading my poems, Elise. And..." She sighed, shaking her head softly.

"And I shouldn't have made assumptions and thought Kris was the mole in Beacon.." Elise looked up from the ground, holding herself tighter. "And I sure as hell shouldn't have red your writings without permission." She gave a soft smile.

"And I should have gone after you guys." Cheyenne took a deep breath, stepping towards Kagami. "The moment I realized and put together everything, I should have come and found one of you and explained. Not... hide like I did."

"And I'm just sorry for everything." The young red head spoke up finally, standing slowly with a slight struggle. She took in a shaky breath, walking towarss her leader. "And I mean everything." She half smile, tilting her head slightly. "Including living if I must." She chuckled softly before groaning.

"Hey," Kagami pushed herself up to sit, holding her tea in her left hand. "You shouldn't be walking. You're hurt and need to-" She stopped herself, watching the younger girl dive into her.

Kris gritted her teeth, doing her best to hold back tears. She held onto Kagami as tight as she could, trembling slightly. "I-I'm... just happy that you are okay and so is Cheyenne and Elise." She sniffed softly, tightening her grip.

Kagami blinked a few times before letting out a sigh with a very soft smile she pulled her arm up, wrapping it around Kris' body and gently began to stroke her back. "Hey... it's all alright now, don't worry about it, okay? We're all..." She trailed off some, hugging the red head a little tighter. "The four of us are all still here..."

Seeing the youngest of them start to cry, Cheyenne stepped over, placing a hand on Kris' shoulder. "She's right. The four of us still have each other, and that's more than others can say. We should count ourselves lucky, especially with how much trouble we got ourselves into this past year."

"And as much as I despised you a year ago," Elise flashed a faint smirk, sitting down next to Kagami before leaning onto Kris. "You're a pretty awesome girl, and I am very happy to have gotten to know you."

With a heavy sniff, Kris clutched onto Kagami tighter, her back bouncing up and down softly as she began to cry. Friends had never been her strong suit and neither had family either. The love her teammates had for her she only felt from her sister, and Jess was gone over half the time. To have these many people around her care for her was something she could only dream about.

After at least a minute, Kris slowly lifted up her head, her eyes red and puffy with strands of her hair dangling in her face. "So what... do we do now?" She asked quietly.

Kagami blinked, reaching up and brushing the hair from her face along with wiping tears away. "Well... I promised Val I would help get that Grimm out of her."

"And the city of Vale still has a bunch of injured people and those inneed of help." Elise added on.

"And don't forget, I still need to help Maya regain herself on what is right and wrong in the world and get her away from the path of darkness." Cheyenne tilted her head back some.

Kris' face slowly lit up with a smile, tears reforming and swelling up in her eyes.

Kagami smiled down at her, stroking her back. "And I'm not ready to go back home, mainly because I'm not allowed to."

"And I still think I haven't had enough adventures for my little life yet." Elise chuckled, pointing at herself with a grin.

"And it's not like I have a home to go to." Cheyenne smiled softly, glancing down.

As the airship started to descend and land, Kagami leaned back, shutting her eyes with a smile. "So even after hell, team MACE is still ready to kick some serious ass." She smirked, opening one eye as she looked over at Elise. "But first, can I have my hoodie back?"

"Uh, well, see..." Elise trailed off, poking her fingers together with an awkward chuckle. "Valentine sorta completely tore up the jacket papa gave me... and I needed a new one..."

"So you decided to take mine?!" The girl with jade hair sat up some more.

"Yeah," Kris looked over. "My hoodie got torn to shreds by the blonde demon, but you don't see me stealing a new one."

"Weeeeell..." Elise slowly stood up as the door started to open. "I kinda... really like this hoodie!" She spoke quickly, slipping through the crack of the still opening door and bolting away.

Kagami sighed, shaking her head softly with a smile. "Well... I guess I need something new."

"What on earth was that about?" Jess asked, walking through the now open door while pointing out of it.

The three girls inside the ship all smiled, laughing softly as Kris spoke up. "It's nothing, Jess." She shook her head. "Just Elise being Elise."

"Okay..." The older red head nodded, her brows raising slightly before she smiled and shook her head. Children were children, no matter what has happened to them.

The four girls were lucky enough to have Julia house them, give or take Kris who had to deal with her sister's embarrassing stories about her for the entire day. Though, once the team finally fell asleep, they stayed asleep. Even Jess crashed and burned from exhaustion. The Fall of Beacon had taken a lot of out everyone.

Even those who caused it.

Outside of the kingdom's walls, in an abandoned village, in a house that wasn't completely demolished, Val was laying on a bed. With an old blanket wrapped around her, she was curled up and sound asleep. It was only when she heard a door open did she flinch awake, quickly looking over.

"S...Sorry..." Nihilus spoke in a hushed tone as he stepped inside. "I didn't mean to disturb you. You can stay resting. I just... have information for you." He sat down on the bed next to her, his hands folded together in his lap.

"What...?" Val yawned, shifting around slightly with sleepy eyes.

"Thanaton found Maya." He looked away for a moment before looking back. "She brought her back here but... she seems out of it. She's barely eating ot drinking and just sits and stares off in the distance. It is even freaking Thanaton out."

Giving a say, she rolled over onto her back, staring up at the ceiling. She thought all about the horrible things that she, that Valentine had done to her and forced her to do. "Well... I'm sure she'll come through at some point. Because once Valentine comes back, she's going to want to go to war."

He nodded, waiting a second before slouching. "So what... do we do now? Do we still work with the White Fang or what? You're the boss here..."

Val hesitated, shutting her eyes as she spoke. "No more killing." She nearly whispered. "We fight for ourselves and only ourselves. We only kill when we have to, that means when someone tries to hurt one of us. We can stay here a build a place up away from those people. We can't let the military or police see or catch us."

Nihilus gave a slow nod, standing up. "Understood." He gave a soft smile in her direction. "Now rest up while I explain to Thanaton and deal with her complaints about it."

As he started to walk off, Val reached out, stopping him by grabbing his wrist. "Nihilus... wait... I..." She trailedo ff, his eyes meeting hers. She gulped, looking away. Her mind was boggling over how the twins came to be in this whole mess because of her, yet she still didn't have the heart to tell either of them. Expecially Nihilus. She sighed, pulling her arm down. "Nevermind..." She mumbled. She had to tell them the truth one day, that day was not today though.

"Okay?" He raised his eyes brows, shacking his shaggy blue hair before walking off with a wave and a smile. "Later, rest up then." He shut the door behind him, doing his best to hide his slight smile as he held where Val had been holding his wrist. "Rest well..."

Several days past before those of team MACE were up and moving around again with ease. And even though Kris denied her stab wound didn't hurt that much, the three others on her team knew very well it still did.

But before this team of brave girls could go back to saving people, there was one thing they needed to do first.

"Come on! Jess! Please!" Kris begged on her knees, hands above her head as she pleaded with her older sister. "Please! Please! Please!"

"Give me one good reason." Jess crossed her arns, looking down with narrowed eyes. "If I give it to you, Julia will have my ass."

"Come on..." She groaned, arms dropping. She then pointed back at her friends behind her. "We can't help people out if we are wearing clothes that are in tatters and from the worst day in forever!"

"I... I have to agree." Kagami mumbled. "We do sorta need to go clothing shopping. Even I agree with that."

Jess finally gave in, rolling her eyes. She reached into her pocket, pulling out a credit card with the Atlas symbol on it. "You three have one day." Her eyes narrowed. "And if Julia asks, you stole it from me."

"I'm sure I can talk Captain Caesar into being fine with it." Kagami flashed a smile. "I mean, I did save her life after she was stabbed a bunch in the back."

"And how many times has she save you?" Jess said with a smile.

She froze, blinking once before giving a nod. "Okay um... okay." She nodded some more.

"I believe that means a lot." Elise chuckled.

"Thanks, sis!" Kris shouted, jumping to her feet as she snatched the card away. "We'll only get what we need!" She turned, bolting out the door as her three other friends followed.

"You know," Julia spoke up, walking out from the shadows with some struggle. "Those four really are something else."

"They're also incredibly lucky." Jess sighed, looking over at her orange haired captain. "How are you feeling today?"

She sighed back, softly shaking her head. "I still feel like someone stabbed me twenty three times in the back, but Vale is in need of assistance and the General has put me under helping them rebuild."

"You should be resting though, ma'am." She took a step towards her.

With a faint chuckle, Julia turned on her heels and started to slowly walk off. "I'll rest when I am a dead woman who is six feet under all because some idiot decided to assassinate me while I am general!"

Jess rolled her eyes, crossing her arms. "At this rate, you'll be dead before you become general! You've been a captain for five years!"

"And at this rate, you'll get no paycheck! Considering whatever they buy is coming out of your pay!" She shot back with a smile.

"Damn it..." She muttered, her head lowering some.

"We're in the middle of the beginning of a war, Jess!" She looked back. "I need resources and allies, not new clothes!"

"Pretty sure you can't wear a shirt with twenty three holes on it, ma'am!" She half chuckled.

There was a moment of silence before Julia flashed a twisted grin. "Five laps around the whole facility! That's an order!"

Jess simply chuckled more, giving a nod followed by a salute. "Ma'am yes ma'am! And you know you love me!"

"You're making it very debatable!" She called back before leaving the area.

As team MACE strolled down the streets to the nearest clothing shop, Kagami couldn't help but notice a woman walking on the other side of the street in time with her and her team. She glanced over for a split second before looking away. She quickly looked over at Kris, sticking her hands in her pocket. "Hey, remember that lady with blue hair?"

The red head glanced up, nodding slowly. "The one we met twice? Yeah? Why?"

"Well..." She eyed the other side of the road. "I believe she's spotted us for a third time."

Kris blinked a few times, glancing over before looking back at Cheyenne and Elise. "Hey," She whispered. "Don't freak out, but someome is following us."

"What?" Cheyenne eyebrows raised.

"Shhh," Kagami hushed her up quickly. "Don't let it show we know." She looked at Elise with a nod. "You know what to do."

The brunet gave a nod, stepping aside before a cloud of smoke wrapped around her and she vanished.

On the other sighed of the street, Aero paused in her walk as she saw Elise vanish. Her brows raised before she grunted, Elise's arm wrapping around her neck. "Kagami said you've been watching us and we've caught you three times." She grunted, the two disappearing and then reappearing inside an alley way which the rest of the MACE girls quickly walked down.

"Mind explaining all of that?" Kris crossed her arms, eyes narrowed.

"Well, in all honesty," Aero sat on the ground, resting her arms on top of her legs. "I was making sure you weren't dead."

"We'll we aren't." Elise took a step towards.

Giving a nod, Kagami stepped up. "And we'd all like to know who you are."

"Seeeeeeee..." Aero looked down, tapping her fingers on her legs. "Oz said I couldn't tell you exactly... buuuuut... since he's missing in action..." She smiled, pointing at herself. "I'm Aero, and the lovely letter A in team MACE." She rose to her feet, dusting herself off.

"Um... what...?" Kris' shook her head some, pointing back at Cheyenne. "No you're not. She is."

She sighed, glancing between Kagami and Elise several times before looking down with a saddened look. "You know, you two really look like your mother's... a lot really..."

"What?" Kagami took a step back, her hands balling up into slight fist.

Elise tensed slightly, standing her ground. "Who are you?" She demanded.

"I told you," Aero reached up, playing with the panda pennant around her neck. "My name is Aero and I am the letter A in MACE."

Each of the four MACE girls took a step back. After a second, Kagami took two steps forwards and held out a finger, pointing to the blue haired woman before them. "Explain right now."

"You might want to be sitting-" Aero started before she was cut off.

"Explain now." Kagami demanded once again. "Three times you have been caught watching my friends. I want answers."

Giving a sigh, she glanced down. After a moment, she stuck her hands in her pockets and looked up. "You're just as protective as your mother..." She whispered to herself before shaking her head. "Anyway," She leaned back against the alley wall. "Like I said, my name is Aero and I'm the letter A in MACE. My MACE, not yours."

"There's two of team MACE?" Cheyenne stepped up.

"I don't know what Oz was thinking, but yes." She nodded. "And Eleanor," She pointed to Elise. "And Midori," She pointed to Kagami. "Were my teammates along with someone named Cherry."

Silence fell across them, Kagami and Elise both looking at each other before they both turned to face Aero with narrowed eyes. Elise couldn't picture her mother fighting and Kagami was finally piecing a few little details she noticed over the past year but never took into consideration.. "You have three minutes to explain." They both demanded.

"Yeah, yeah." Aero sighed once more, stepping through the group of girls. "But not here. How about a nice little candy store or some place that sells hot chocolate?"

"Isn't she... an adult...?" Kris muttered before grunting as Cheyenne put her hand over her mouth.

"Shhh." The Faunus insisted.

Gritting her teeth, Kagami spun in her heels and walked right behind Aero. "You better have a damn good story." She wanted answers now.

Aero stopped dead in her tracks, Kagami nearly running into her. The woman glanced back, her jaw tensed. "No one ever said my story was a good story..." She muttered before looking forward with narrowed eyes and a glare. "It's a stroy of pain and suffering to be honest..."


	43. Classic MACE

Sitting in a chair, Aero was hunched over a table. Her right hand propping up her chin as she stared down at a cup of hot chocolate. Strands of her blue hair were wrapped all across her cheeks and neck, slightly dancing across her eyes. With a sigh, she spun a thin maroon colored stirring straw around in the cup over and over until she stopped, letting go of the straw. She watched it spin around, waiting till it stopped and the white foam reappeared on the surface of the drink.

Leaning back, she looked across the table at the group of four young girls glaring over in her direction. She flinched, her head lowering some as she formed a faint smile. "Sheesh, talk about a tough crowed."

Glaring harshly and in a protective way, Kris had her eyes locked on the woman, her jaw tense. Having her spy on her and not to mention the Fall of Beacon had been enough. She did not need some lady walking up and saying she was on a team with two of her best friends' mothers.

"Well," Elise took a deeo breath, leaning back in her seat. She was still having trouble processing her mother as a fighter. Her mother had always been against fighting, even teaching Elise from a young age that it was wrong to hurt someone. She couldn't picture it. "Are you going to explain or what? If someone needs to break the ice, I glady will." She pulled an arm up, pointing her thumb at herself.

Aero gave another sigh, leaning forward. She rested her elbows on the table. After a few seconds of a serious look, she flashed a smile before chuckling. She leaned back, nearly dying of laughter. "You guys are so much like them! It's the best!"

"Huh..." Cheyenne raised a hand, slowly lowering it with a blank face. Of all the responses from a woman that the Faunus imagined, this was definitely not one of them.

As the blue haired woman continued to laugh, Kagami took a very deep breath, pinching the bridge of her nose. "This is ridiculous..." She muttered to herself. Though, from every little detail from her mother saying she was a part of a team and Elise having learned her how to make her mother's healing tea from her own mother and most importantly the mere fact she knew of the Monomane clan, it all somehow fit together in her mind.

"Sorry... sorry..." Aero took a deep breath, calming herself as she rubbed her eyes. She shook her head some, taking another deep breath before leaning onto the table. This time, she softly smiled. "It's just... it's been so long since I've seen Eleanor's and Midori's death glares. Ruthless hell bound beast they were." She smiled a little more, staring down at her coffee. "Anyway," She slowly looked back up, leaning back. "Y'all want some answers."

"Damn well we do!" Elise snapped, slamming her fist down onto the table. "I am getting tired of your stalling!"

She chuckled, brushing some of her blue hair behind her ear with a smile. "Alright, alright." She nodded, reaching down towards her backpack. After a moment, she pulled out one of the largest books any of the girls had ever seen.

"When I was younger, I use to have memory issues. Dad always said it was because mom dropped me on the head when she was trying to feed me and cook for him," She chuckled, rubbing the back of her head. "But I swear, mom and I both agree that he was pushing me in a stroller one nice day and he hit a crack in the sidewalk and I just flipped out."

"On with it." Kris rolled her eyes, waving her hand.

Aero smirked, glancing at her before winking.

The red head flinched back, her eye twitching slightly. "G-Go on! Dumb ass!" She felt herself becoming flustered.

The woman smiled, leaning forward and tapping the top of the book with her left pointer finger. It was far beyond old, the pages burned yellow by age. The outer cover was a dark green, covered up by strips of dark brown leather. It was still worn down, some of the stitching torn out and colors faded in places.

"There is a thousand pages in this book." She tapped it again. "Though..." Her head lowered some. "I was only able to write on nine hundred and fourteen of those pages..." She leaned back, her arms crossing. "See, my mom wanted to know everything that happened when I went to Beacon, but with my poor memory, she thought of the idea of having me write a diary entry for each day. All in all, it honestly helped with my memory." She looked down at the book, slowly leaning back.

"What's inside that dairy... is utter madness..." She sighed, a hand reaching up and grabbing the panda charm on her necklace. "Oz said not to tell you guys anything... but... I just needed to make sure you four were alright after a battle like that..." She shook her head. "Some teams fall apart after major battles that define them..." She trailed off, letting silence fall.

Feeling her eyes sting, Aero had to take several seconds, taking a deep breath. After a moment, she gulped and looked up. She tapped at the book again."This... holds every day from the time I first stepped into Beacon and up until... the last moments of my team..."

"What happened?" Kagami spoke up in a hushed voice, looking up at the woman.

The blue haired woman cracked a small smile, it quivering before falling apart. Her jaw tightened, her head lowering down. "I messed up... that's what I did..." She gulped, wrapping her arms around herself before leaning her forehead onto the table. Birds chirped in the distance before Aero screamed at the top of her lungs, yelling the before sentence but with a certain four letter word, the worst four letter word, in place of the word messed, that made each of the girls flinch away slightly.

Grinding her teeth together, Aero's left hand was gripping her shoulder tight. Her fingers were digging into her soft flesh yet she didn't seem to notice the own pain she was causing herself. With her heart racing, she shut her eyes, her body beginning to tremble. Flashbacks of the last day she spent with her team overran her mind, a rush of terror overcoming her.

After a moment, the woman flinched, a hand grabbing her left hand. Her eyes shot open, her breathing heavy as sweat dripped off her nose. Slowly, she looked up, gulping with her mouth slightly opened.

Standing at her side, Kagami seemed rather worried, her hand tightening slightly around Aero's. It didn't matter who this woman was, when someone was in distress, Kagami couldn't resist the urge to help them.

She gave a slow nod, half smiling. "The past is the past, you don't have to worry about it. Whatever happened that day, it's not going to harm you again."

The blue haired woman softly chuckled, pulling her hand back. "That would work if I wasn't trying to track down those bastards."

"Oh for the love of..." Kris rubbed her face, shaking it as she looked down.

Kagami herself blinked a few times before shaking her head and taking her seat once again."Well, if you're alright now, I'd like to know exactly what happened."

"Well..." Aero leaned back, picking up her cup of hot chocolate and holding it close. "Twenty three years ago, I came to Beacon. Though... the four years that followed that were nothing as I had planned." She faintly smiled. "I had always wanted to travel and help out anyone I could, human or Faunus." She gave a small shrug before chuckling. "Though, I don't think I was considered the most ethical person. Pretty sure I slept with every man that was at Beacon in the four years I was there."

"Oh for the love of..." Cheyenne was to speak this time, lowering her head as she pinched her nose and shut her eyes.

"What?" The woman gave a shrug, laughing slightly. "Now that I think about it, it was the worst idea I ever had, but it made sense when I was younger."

"And what possible reason could that havd been?" The Faunus shook her head, looking up.

"Well..." She sighed, looking up at the sky. "It was never for attention, my parents loved me enough and I had tons of friends. You see..." She watched a bird fly across the sky before looking down at her hot chocolate. "Around the time I was fifteen... while I was hanging out with a few friends and was watching these shirtless guys spar... they all seemed to be happy watching them and I... I just didn't understand." She looked up, taking a deep breath.

"It took me a bit," She smiled faintly. "But I eventually realized I didn't feel the same way towards guys as normal girls my age did. So my stupid young mind tried to fix that by having sex with every bloody man I could." She shook her head some, sinking deep into her seat. "When I finally did start to have feelings for someone... they weren't someone I wanted the world to see me with..." She looked down. "So... I never told her... and I let them kill her..."

Silence fell again, neither of the four girls willing to speak up for once. For once, in a very long time, neither of them had the nerve to speak, not even utter a single word. Birds simply chirped, clouds rolling by up above as a cool gust of wind blew through.

After well over five minutes, Kagami took a deep breath, breaking the awkward silence. "The woman, was it the person named Cherry that you mentioned before?"

Aero slowly nodded, looking up. "She was... amazing in all fairness. While I was running off with as many men as I could, Midori and Eleanor would be bickering non-stop. The two were like boiling oil and ice cold water. Eleanor couldn't go five seconds without nagging Midori and Midori couldn't go five seconds without doing something that ticked Eleanor off."

She started to chuckle some. "But Cherry was always calm. No matter the madness that happened within our dorm room, she would sit there and meditate as if she was sitting in silence... and every now and then she would speak up and give some deep and poetic advice that we rarely listened too. And to make her even better!" She slammed her fist on the table.. "Cherry was a shapeshifting Faunus! Though, as a child, she could never master her shifting ability so her father had special people creare a little panda pin that would stop her from changing suddenly and uncontrollably. Oh, by the way," She waved them off. "She would transform into a giant freaking panda and it was great. Though she tried to keep it a secret. I wouldn't blame her. I wouldn't want someone seeing me at over two hundred pounds."

She then reached out, pointing towards Kagami. "Don't get me wrong though, your mother was amazing. She had a pair of katanas that were basically magic. They were realy cool. And she could wield a katana with one hand." The woman began to smile wide, her hands outstretched in amazement. "Do you know how difficult it is to use a katana one handed, let alone wielding two in seperate hands? It's freaking amazing!"

She took a few breaths, calming herself yet still smiling. "And even though Eleanor and I questioned Oz's choices in making Midori the leader, Cherry always had faith. And in all honesty..." She smirked. "Cherry was right a hundred percent of the time. The two of us should have listened. Midori was..." She shook her head. "Midori was something else. She was always willing to fight. Even if she was hurt, she would always rise back up and fight to protect us when we were too tired or too hurt to do so. She was probably the best leader anyone could have asked for. She didn't take it as a high authority or as a title, she took the word leader as a shield for those she took into battle. She was spectacular."

She then reached over, letting out a deep huff of air as she pointed at Elise. "And Eleanor was the craziest ass bitch I have EVER met." She shook her head. "Someone could tell her to climb a wintery mountain and she would head right up there without any preparation or water or warmer clothes! And the thing is, she would always get to the top and climb back down with ease! She would jump from building to building! Lord Oum forbid, she once chased a bloody car down a highway!" She tossed her arms up. "The woman was a bloody mad man! She even got a tattoo of a snowy mountain with the moon and some clouds on her back from a homeless guy off the streets!"

Kris, Kagami, and Cheyenne all slowly looked over at Elise, blinking rapidly.

With her mind at an utter loss, the brunet slowly lifted a hand and placed it on the table. "Okay... see... one problem I have with all of this..." It wasn't the idea of her mother doing something dangerous or not preparing for a near fatal challenge, no, it was something far worse that puzzled her mind. Both her hands suddenly slammed on the table. "Mama wpuld NEVER in a million years get a tattoo!"

"Trust me," Aero gave a slow nod with a smile. "She was like that before it all went downhill."

"No way..." The young farm girl shook her head.

Smiling, the woman leaned forward. "Have you ever seen the very lower part of her back?"

Elise was quiet for a moment before she crossed her arms woth a pout. "Quiet, you."

Chuckling, Aero leaned back again. "Now, I'll admit, the first semester the four of us psent together, I was pretty sure one of us would wake up with a dead body in our room. But you know, small events in our lives change us." She smiled, taking a sip of her hot chocolate for once. "See, Cherry was unlike other girls. She came all the way from Mistral just to go to Beacon. She could have gone anywhere, she went to the most expensive comabt school and damn," She whistled. "Her father was loaded like mad. He was Mistral's greatest crime boss for a long time. It ran in the White family. People feared him and his lackies."

She grinned. "Big Bear was my favorite of his associates. He had a little sister too, her name was Little Bear. And well... to make a long story short," She rubbed the back of her head. "Cherry her father she was leader of the team. She came up with the name Team CAME, please don't quote that, and we all took a trip to her family over our mid-year break."

"And see..." She pointed at the ground. "People in Mistral aren't very nice to new comers. Not knowing who we were, this one gang tried to attack us for all the lien we had on us." She softly smiled. "That was the day the fighting and tensions dropped down greatly between my team. We couldn't win, we all knew this, but Midori always came up with insane plans. So..." Shd trailed off for a moment, almost reliving the memory.

"So Midori, being our leader, decided to make a decision that changed us all." She couldn't help but smile from ear to war. "We were running down an alley and the gang was catching up to us. Midori, she shoved the three of us in a dumpster before she went on running a little more. Now, she got caught, but the thing sas, those idiots thought we had ran on ahead. And you know what happened?" She looked up at the four girls. "A seventeen year old girl, someone the same age as me, went to trying go fight at least twent men who were armed with pipes and bars and Oum knows what else. Of course... she didn't when... but as she was getting herself pumbled into oblivion, Eleanor and I were both cowaring in trash. Comapred to her, we weren't worthy of being on the same team as her..." She trailed off again.

She took another deep breath, looking up. "Lucky for her though, a childhood friend of Cherry's showed up. Sakuya Aoigane I believe her name was. She reminded those jack asses that they weren't in their own territory and were looking for a gun fight. See, Cherry had been gone for so long, she hadn't known of the territory changes in Mistral. Her father had gained a hell of a lot more." She gave a nod, before softly chuckling. "The best thing was, when Midori stood back up, aside from a slim trail of red from the corner of her mouth, she was fine. She was bold and brave and had the strength to protect us. She was definitely the best choice for a leader."

"Well," Kagami gave a small shrug, smiling with her eyes shut. "I guess every Monomane has to take care of their idiot teammates."

"Aw, shut up!" Kris glared at her, nudging her softly.

"So you guys become a more connected team after that." Elise gave a very slow nod, looking uo at the blue haired woman. "So what ever happened with you guys? What... happened to Cherry?" She almost seemed reluctant to ask. "What happened to you? And what happened tp Kagami's mother and mama?"

"Well..." Aero licked her lips, looking down before looking back up and down again. She bit her lip hard, clutching the panda charm. "Ironically, on our five year anniversary of meeting each other at Beacon, nearly eighteen years ago, just like I said..." She looked up. "I fucked up."

The four girls stared at the woman for a moment before Kagami quietly spoke up, leaning over onto the table with one arm. "Explain, please."

"Well to put it as simple as I can..." Aero took a very deep breath, inhaling as much as she could. Her chest pushed outward till it seemed like her lungs were going to burst. She held her breath for a moment before she slowly exhaled, her shoulders dropping. "Even after we graduated, the rest and MACE and I still were a team and fighting as much injustice as we could. Well... we weren't really good at staying in one place. We decided to leave Vale and go to Vacuo for a while. Even decided to stop at Menagerie for a while. But..." She lowered her head down. "Then I said we should go to Mistral... and try to help with all the crime..."

She paused, grinding her teeth together. Her pupils began to dilate, her right shoulder aching like hell as she reached up and gripped it. She had to take several heavy breaths, her body trembling ever so slightly. It took her a while before she came back over herself, and none of the four girls dared to tell her to hurry.

"A-And..." She took a shaky breath. "Well... we got stuck... in the middle of a gang war... or a mafia war... or whatever the hell you think war... it was between the White family and Black family... those in Mistral named it it the Battle Of Yin And Yang..."

Aero shook her head, glancing up with a gulp. "It was one of the biggest crime boss wars in Mistral in a long time... and when Cherry found out about her father, she couldn't just run away and leave... her father did her best to convince her to leave, but it was no use... criminal or not... they were still family and she was determined to stand by her family's side... and so..." She chuckled softly. "Of course we had to stay too. We weren't going to let her fight all on her own. She was one of us now. Plus," She softly smiled. "I did have the strongest feelings for Cherry back then, I would have gone to the ends of Remnant and back for her..."

"So what exactly did you do that... caused everything to become so awful?" Elise nearly mumbled, her brows slightly furrowed.

"You know how things are," Aero glanced over at her. "See, we couldn't just let Cherry and her family down, so I came up with the worst thing I could have ever thought of." She leaned back, lowering her head as her arms wrapped around herself. "In a summary... Midori and Eleanor to agree to help me kidnap the son of the head of the Black family... it took some convincing, but I eventually got them to agree and... it all went south... we took him as a bargining card because the White family had always been on top and were suppose to stay there... but by taking the boy," She looked up. "All hell erupted. The two families immediately clashed, bloodshed all across both. My right shoulder was completely shattered, Eleanor watch horrors she could only imagine, and Midori... she tried so damn hard to protect us all... but in the end, she held Cherry's dying body in her arms..." She trailed off, her voice cracking.

She went to clutching her shoulder again, her fingers trembling as she inhaled a shaky breath. "I never... I never got to tell Cherry how I felt about her... and to this day it haunts me..." Her eyes teared up ever so slightly. "In the end, all of the White family was killed off, and the Black family had lost so many numbers they became a bandit group instead. I've been searching for the Black Clan for years... trying to avenge Cherry in some way... but it's so hard to find people who don't want to be found." She smiled some, chuckling softly. "Same goes for Eleanor and Midori. After the end of the Battle Of Yin And Yang had ended, they vanished without a single word... I've been searching for them since... they are little devils though..." She shook her head. "All I found was a grave marked for Cherry inside a cave where the four of us would hide and chill in while at Mistral. I assumed Midori was the cause of that. I got myself medical attention for my shoulder, but it took years for it to recover. It still messes up now and then. Shattering every bone... really isn't good..." She sighed, dropping her head,

After a moment of silence, she looked back up. She grabbed the necklace around her neck, lifting it up for the girls to see. "This was left on the grave. I don't know if Midori knew I would come or if she knew how I felt for Cherry, but it was there like it was waiting for me." She gave a soft smile, leaning forward. "So, there you go. The story of team MACE summed up. Our tragic friendship torn apart by a stupid mistake a made." She sighed, lowering her head as she pushed her age old diary forward. "I'll be here for a while though to help clear up Vale, don't know how much you'll see me, but you can take this and read it if you want."

Kagami and Elise both glanced at each other before Kagami nodded, out stretching an arm and pulling the thick book close. "Will do."

"So you've been searching for bandits and two women for eighteen years, huh?" Kris raised her eyebrows. "You are a pretty awful bounty hunter."

"Shut it, pip squeak!" Aero snapped, glaring over at her. "It's hard to find people who don't want to be found! And I was helping people too in my travels!"

"Do you still want to find them?" Elise raised her head, looking up at the blue haired woman. "Mama is pretty crazy still, but I'll help you meet her again if I could."

She blinked some, glancing over at the brunet. Slowly, she started to smile. "Really?"

"Sure thing." The young farm girl shrugged.

"Not sure if you'll want to go where mother is," Kagami looked up. "It's being overrun with hatred and madness and Atlas soldiers now, but I'm sure she wouldn't mind meeting you again."

"Why do you think they would even run away without a word?" Cheyenne quietly spoke up.

"Trauma, probably. It was most likely their way of coping with theall the madness and loss of a best friend." Aero took a deep breath. "They coped by running away. I coped by helping others."

The Faunus slowly nodded back, glancing downward. The next few minutes, Elise and Kagami both gave the where abouts of their mothers to Aero. Soon after, Aero took her leave, letting the four keep the legendary diary.

"You believe her?" Kagami finally spoke up after a while, glancing at Elise.

The brunet gave a nod, running a finger across the leather of the book. "I don't see why not."

"In all honesty," Kris spoke up. "I liked everything a lot better at the beginning of this year."

"Agreed." Kagami nodded.

"I second that." Cheyenne muttered in a hushed tone.

Giving a sigh, Elise let her fingers wrap around the front cover of the dairy, opening it up. "Might as well read some of it."

Kagami gave a soft smile, pulling the book close. "I honestly want to know what my mother was like before."

"I think ALL of us do now." Cheyenne leaned over onto Elise's shoulder.

"I couldn't have said it better myself." Kris added, leaning onto Kagami.

The jade haired girl flashed a smile, pulling the diary closer. "Just a little, I do want new clothes." She glanced down at Kris before over at Elise and Cheyenne. Her mother had lost her closest friends, but she was not going to let that happen her. The three of them meant far too much to her now.

She leaned back, her head tilting towards the first page of the book. Inscribed on the front page was as read:

 _To the greatest team in the world and the best friends in the world, Midori Monomane, Cherry White, and Eleanor Geel, I apologies for everything, but through this diary, I hope our legend lives on._

Elise questioned her mother's last name for a moment before she shook her head, coming to the conclusion she would have most likely have had changed it after the whole disaster. She reached over, flipping the page over. On the back of the front page was as followed:

 _"We all write and draw our own destiny, whether it is with gold, brown, black, white, or... red." ~~~ Aero Pastell_


	44. Team MACE

Standing in front of a mirror with glimmering bright green eyes, Kris was glaring back at herself with slightly narrowed eyes. In her left hand was a red fedora, her right holding a green one. "Hmmm..." The small red head gently placed the green one on her head before swiping it out for the red one. "Hmmm..." She let out a sigh, putting the other back on. "Green... red... green... red... green... red... green? Red? Green? Red? Green? Red?" She switched the fedoras out faster and faster eith each passing second. "Green, red, green, red, green, red, green, red? Greeeeeeeeeen? Reeeeed?"

Eventual, she sighed, letting her arms fall down at her sides. "I don't even knooooow!" She groaned louder, shoulders dropping down. "Guys!" She shouted, turning around slowly, making sure not to reopen the wound in her torso. "Do I look better in green or red?!"

Kris's voice echoed through out a clothing shop, one that wasn't destroyed my the attack on Vale and Beacon. It wasn't that large of a clothing shop, more of a thrift store if anything at all. Rows of clothing racks were filled with shirts of all sorts and pants of all lengths, there was even what felt like miles of miscellaneous clothes.

Popping her head up from behind a row of old Vale military clothing, Elise flashed a wicked smiling, shouting back to her teammate. "I vote for green! Green is really cool! It's one of my favorite colors!"

"I agree." Kagami pushed her head up from a row of t-shirts. "Green is pretty cool."

Cheyenne rolled her eyes, her hands picking through lines of old style vest. "Don't listen to them, Christmas! Red is totally your thing!"

"Kay!" The small girl called back, tossing the green fedora to the side as she put on the red one, pressing it down a bit to make sure it fit tight.

"Hey! Guys!" Elise chuckled, peaking out around from the clothes with a camouflage bikini. "Can you believe they put this in with the military stuff?" She held it up to her body, grinning as she looked around. "I think I would look good in this." She wiggled her eyebrows.

The brunet gave a soft grunt, a balled up white shirt colliding with her face. With an arm outstretched, Kagami sighed and shook her head at her reammate. "You know, we are sorta kinda in public. Can't you act normal?"

"Hey!" The young farm girl scrambled around, letting the shirt fall from her face. "I am acting normal! And it's not like he cares!" She pointed at the old shop keeper who simply gave a shrug followed by a faint grunt.

"Oh boy..." Cheyenne reached up, sighing as she shook her head. She then reached over, smiling faintly at the sight of a wool collar. "You're pretty though..." She mumbled, running a finger across it before pulling out a light brown and leather sleeveless trench coat with wool filling the collar. She held it up to herself, the length going down to her thighs.

"Finally found something you like, Chey?" Elise called back, checking the size of several camouflage pants.

"I guess you could say that." The Faunus grave a small shrug.

"You know," Kagami started to talk. "If I have learned only one thing from all of this, it's that shorts are AWFUL in a fight. When I hit that water, it felt like a million needles shot through my shins and red hot."

"That's why you gotta have pants!" Elise chuckled, stepping out as she slapped her thighs which could be seen under her brown pants which had tears and holes on it. "You wants something really tough, you should get some tactical pants. Some are tough as nails."

The jade haired girl gave a slow nod, pulling out a shirt in her size. There was a diagonal line from her right shoulder to her lower left hip. The line separated two colors, the bottom part black and the upper part green. She gave a faint smile before flinching as a red blur jumped down and landed next to her.

"Guys!" Kris winced slightly, hunching over a bit before shaking her head and standing up straight. Around her small body was a large red trench coat with golden button which went down below her knees. She reached up, pulling the red fedora over her eyes as her messy red hair wrapped around her face. "I'm a spy!"

"I..." Kagami blinked, trailing off. She lowered her head, smilimg with a shrug. "Alright, alright. I can't question anything anymore." She then looked back at Elise. "Can I have my hoodie back though? My arms feel naked without it."

"Nope." The brunet shook her head, finding a pair of military pants that would require her to wear a belt so they wouldn't fall down. "I call dibs on this thing. It's great. It's warm and cool and awesome and..." She gave a shrug. "It's also magical, that's cool too."

"Even though we've just been through hell," Kris sighed and shook her head. "The one thing I still can't get over is the fact magic us real and you can use it. I will never get over that."

"Guys." Cheyenne shot her head up, pulling up a shirt with red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, and indigo on it. There was a female girl in each color and the words Rainbow Time Dancers printed in bold letters above. "I thought there was only six of them... who is this indigo color?"

"SPOILERS!" Both Kris and Elise shouted, tackling the Faunus to the ground.

Watching the two tackle Cheyenne down, Kagami blinked rapidly. She then gave a sigh, watching the red head and brunet began to fight over said shirt. "Oh for the love of Oum..." She sighed, shaking her head. She tossed the green and black shirt over her shoulder before stepping towards the side. There, she found a belt, nearly the same green as her shirt. She snatched it up, checking to make sure it would fit her.

"Okay..." Cheyenne gave a slow nod, scooting away from the fighting girls in front of her. She stood, grunting as she hit her head on the pole above her head. She groaned, rubbing where she had hit. She turned around, blinking a few times at a button up white polo shirt. "Oh, you're pretty too." She mumbled, checking the size and then smiling.

"This shirt is... MINE!" Elise snapped, jerking back on the shirt that she gripped with both hands while sitting on the floor.

"You... mean MINE!" Kris jerked back, her fingers digging in to the fabric.

"Mine!" The brunet snapped.

Grunting, the red head shut her eyes. "Mine!"

"It's mine!"

"No! It's mine!"

"Mine!"

"Mine!"

As the two bickered back and forth, Kagami walked up to the front desk with a pair of black tactical pants and way more pockets than they needed. "Excuse me, do you have something like these but with metal padding underneath them?"

The shop keeper narrowed his brows before flashing a smile followed by a nod with a grunt. He snatched the pair of pants from her, ducking down underneath the counter. Metal clanking filled the room as well as the sounds of tools.

Kagami blinked, leaning over the counter. She then grunted, being pushed back by the old man's hand.

After a minute, the shop keeper shot back up, lay the pants out across the counter. He reached out, knocking on the knees, shins, and thighs, the sound of metal being heard as he did so. He then reached into one of the pant legs, pulling it inside out, showing the inside where the metal was. Behind it, on the inside, the was a thick layer of fabric padding to help for comfort when wearing.

Kagami smiled some, giving a nod as she reached out and grabbed the pants. "And thank you." She smiled a little more.

The old man simply gave a nod with a grunt before his brows raised. He pointed behind the young girl and back at the two behind her.

With a sigh, Kagami looked back at the still fighting teammates of her's who seemed to be about to rip each other's heads off. "Oh Oum..." She shook her head.

Finally, after several long hours of searching for just the right sized clothes and endless arguing over who would get the Rainbow Time Dancers shirt, the cash register dinged. The old shop keeper gave off a noise, waving the four girls off as they left his store. He glanced over, his head lowering with a sigh at the unorganized mess of his clothes now.

He walked over towards the shops door, turning an open sign around to say closed. He then calmly shut off the lights, stepping out of the shop and locking it up. He didn't feel like dealing with that mess at the moment. It could be dealt with later.

As he walked down the streets of the lonely city, he couldn't help but smile at the four girls. He had seen them a few times buying things from the multiple places he owned, but even with those few instances, he could tell there was a bond between them that no one could ever break.

That bond may waver definitely from time to time, but nothing could truly ever sever it. Not even golden shears could do so. Those four were a rare occasion, that rare moment in time where one finds the group they belong with. For most, it takes years, maybe even half a life, some it takes only a few months. There is no absolute on how or when one would ever find their place, but the old man knew one thing for sure.

Those four girls were where they belonged. Right besides each other, side by side and fighting battles only the brave would dare to do in order to protect the innocent.

The shop keeper smiled, glancing up at the sky before looking forward. Seeing two women walking towards him. He stepped to the side, letting them pass by.

"And thank you, mister." Aero smiled, saluting in his direction before turning around to look at her old blonde teacher from years ago. "What did you say?"

Giving a sigh, Glynda crossed her arms and shook her head. "Miss Pastell..." She sighed once more, pinching the bridge of her nose before looking up at her. "We were talking about the Fall of Beacon."

"Right... right!" The blue haired woman perked up a bit. "I'm still very confused with whoever did this and their goals for it."

Questioning what she was about to do, the blonde hesitated as she looked forward. "Since you've been around Remnant more than anyone I've known..." She slowly looked back at Aero. With Ozpin missing, Qrow most likely to run off again, and James back in Atlas, she needed someone else she could trust. And though she would never admit it to anyone else, Aero was the best choice she had. "What was your favorite fairytale as a child?"

"Uh..." Aero blinked slowly. A puzzled look quickly coming across her face. "Huh...?"

Giving a sigh, Glynda reached up and pinched the bridge of her nose. Once again, she questioned what she was doing. "Miss Pastell... what is your favorite fairytale?"

"Weeell..." Aero raised a hand, suddenly counting off. "There is the Legend Of The Green Lantern, Twitches, Old Saint Nicolas and His Wife, The Bear and The Bow, The Three Pigs and The Wolf, The Sister Of The Good Witch, The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mister Hyde, The God of Grape Harvest, The Goddess of Strife, The Little Sister and Little Brother, Captain Julius, Robin Hood, Hawkeye, Green Arrow, Legolas and The One Ring, The Mermaid Who Wished for Legs, The Glorious Tomoe Gozen, The Never Ending Legend of Robert Norman Ross... um..." She blinked a few times, looking up at the sky. "There is also Beowulf and East of The Sun and West of The Moon were pretty good too-"

She was cut off, Glynda's finger pressing up against her lips. "Aero..." She took a deep breath, sighing softly as she looked over. "You know magic is real from your leader's heritage, don't you?"

The blue haired woman gave a nod. "Yeah."

"Do... you remember the story of The Four Seasons?" She was almost reluctant to ask.

"Of course!" The childish woman smiled. "Why do you ask?"

Giving a very faint sigh, Glynda looked forward as the two walked off into the slowly setting sun. "It is a long story."

As the sun set on parts of Vale, a very annoyed, beaten, bruised, and rather pissed off Eri made her way trough the shadows. With Dion in jail and the Twins and Valentine gone, she needed somewhere else to go. So after a few drinks and some listening in and some play time, she earned the whereabouts of a darker and far worse criminal than Dion could ever be.

She WAS a bloody crime lord.

Coming up to a club with music and lights flashing, Eri stepped up, her eyes locked on the brute of a man standing at the door.

With extremely dark and tanned skin and a body harned with muscles and a height of at least six feet, this man had long black spiky hair that trailed down his back. He wasn't wearing any sort of normal clothes, only a pair of lion paws were drabbed around his neck over he chest as the lion's mane wrapped around his waist. His feet were bare and calloused and hardened like stone. On every part of his body, there was also strange tattoos in writing that looked as cool as anything in the world. There was one on each of his toes, his feet, ankles, shins, knees, thighs, stomach, sides, chest, shoulder, triceps, elbows, forearms, wrist, hands, each of his fingers, thumbs, lower back, upper back, neck, forehead, nose, both ears, and his chin. In all fairness, they looked terrifying to anyone who looked at them. Well, as long as they were unable to read what they actually met.

"Name." He demanded, glaring down at the blonde girl before him.

Eri snarled slightly, standing up on her tiptoes. "Doesn't matter. Let me in."

Bending over, the man flashed a fangy grin. "Name."

Taking a deep breath, the short blonde growled. "Eri Sin."

"Sorry," The man stood back up. "Name's not on the madame's list tonight."

Snarling a little, Eri scratched at the metal on her gauntlets. "Let me in now."

"Or else what, shortie?" The man leaned back down with a look that dared her to try him.

On the inside of the club, a few minutes later, a, bartender scrambled into a well furnished room. The room was lit up with golden lights, tapestry of all colors hanging down from all edged of the room. On one end there was a large wooden dresser with a closet next to it. On the other end was a large bed fit for a king. This bed was covered in silk like pink blankets that were so soft that you could see it.

On the bed, sitting with her legs crossed, a small blonde girl with wavey hair and brown streaks glanced up to look at the bartender. Her dark red eyes blinking slowly.

"How many times have I told you to knock?" Behind the girl, a much older woman sat with a brush in her hand and some of the small girl's hair in the other. The woman had nearly the same hair color, but straight and down to her lower back. Her red eyes were much brighter though.

"F-Forgive me, Katie and Mrs. Sanguine!" The man panted, hands on his knees as he looked up. "But Master Tenebris is at it again! Some girl wanted in and he wouldn't let her and now they are fighting and she's giving him a run for his lien!"

"Really?" The woman known as Mrs. Sanguine looked amused yet thrilled and annoyed at the same time. "Toho never has any trouble keeping pest out."

"Maybe... this girl is just as bad as Tohopka...?" The young girl known as Katie looked up, slowly turning around to look back. "Maybe this girl is one of those super criminals that people keep saying escaped during the attack."

"Hmmm..." Mrs. Sanguine slowly rose to her feet as she stepped towards the door. "Well, I wish that was how it was, but sadly most of the criminals running around here are nothing but squabble." She sighed, looking back at Katie. "Dear daughter, finish combing your hair. Your mother has to deal with someone."

Giving a slow nod, Katie picked up the brush. "I'll sick Coco on Tohopka if he doesn't listen."

Mrs. Sanguine chuckled, stepping out. "Toho is the strongest muscle head in the world, yet he's afraid of some dog."

"To be fair, mom, Coco is crazy!" She called back.

"Oh, I know he is! We raised him, sweetie!" Mrs. Sanguine smiled, shutting the door.


	45. A New Beginning

On the top floor of a building that was ravaged by Grimm during the attack on Vale several months ago, a heavy combat boot stepped on top of a window that had been blown out. The glass beneath it shattered, crunching underneath the weight. The green grip on the bottom of the boot slowly raised up, shards of glass following before they too fell back down to the darlk floor. The other pair of the black boot came crashing down, breaking more pieces of glass as the green laces swayed back and forth.

Echoing through out the dimly lit room, a song quietly played. _This will be the day we've waited for, this will be the day we open up the door, I don't wanna hear your absolution; hope you're ready for a revolution, welcome to a world of new solutions, welcome to a world of bloody evolution, in time, your heart will open minds, a story will be told-_

"Kris," Kagami paused in her walk, reaching up to pinch the bridge of her nose. Her hands covered in fingerless tactical gloves, the knuckles glimmering in light from the metal covering them. Her forearms tightly wrapped in a pale green fabric. "Turn it off."

"Whaaat?" The little red headed girl chuckled softly, sitting on a rooftop across from the building Kagami was in. With her red fedora hiding her eyes, her body was hidden underneath the large red trench coat. The golden buttons and golden buckle shining in the sun light. In her ear was a small earpiece with the Atlas logo on it. From it, she could hear Kagami sigh again before footsteps picked up.

"Whatever." The jade haired girl sighed, shaking her head as she opened a door and stepped inside. "Listen, I know Atlas has some pretty amazing technology, and we're lucky your sister was able to sneek us these short range communicators... and I get that litte gadget of yours picked up some type of aura in this building, but I'm telling you," She opened another door, steeping inside cautiously. "There is absolutely no one in this building."

"Just keep looking, I know there is someone in there." Kris gave a sigh, looking up to see the ever setting sun and broken moon. "We just need to find them before someome else does."

"Yeah, yeah, I hear you." Kagami gave a nod, rounding a corner. Her black tactical pants rubbing against each other and creating the only noise in the entire place. "This is ridiculous..." She muttered to herself, pulling her black and green shirt over her waistband and hiding her belt. A gentle breeze came through, the diagonal cut between the green and black fabric on her shirt moving ever so slightly to appear wave like.

"Kris, listen. It's getting late." The leader spoke up in a hushed tone. "We need to get back ourselves before night falls. I have searched every floor. There is no one-" She stopped herself, rounding the last corner of the building. "Bloody hell..." She muttered at the sight of the blood stained floor. The sunlight shining through the window and causing a shadow that hid a deformed figure.

"What is it?" Kris almost seemed reluctant to ask, her head slowly moving towards the building.

"Seems we were too slow again..." Kagami's shoulders dropped some. A moment of silence fell before the red head spoke up.

She bit her lip softly. "How many?"

"Just one..." The jade haired girl responded before freezing. "Wait..." She sniffed the air, the smell of fresh blood burning her nose. "If you did pick up this person's aura... and it disappeared just a bit ago..." Her eyes slwoly widened as the deep growl coming from behind her. Slowly, she turned around, reaching for the hilt of her sword. Her arm slowly fell back down though at the sight of glowing red eyes towering above her from the shadows.

"We have a very big problem! There's a-!" A heavy grunt was heard before static overcame the communicator and then dead silence.

Kris shot to her feet, standing on the ledge of the building with wide eyes. "Kagami! What happened?! What's going on?!"

The top window on the building across from the red head suddenly shattered, out of it coming a large and beastly Grimm that was bear hugging Kagami tight. "BERINGAEL!" The jade haired girl cried out, using her free left hand to punch the creature over and over in the face. "Now! You! Let! Go! Of! Me!"

"Oh for the love of Harambe..." Kris muttered, reaching under her trench coat and pulling out her candy cane weapons. She moved her right arm back before flinging it forward, sending out the curved edge to the building in front of her. Once attached, she jumped off, swinging through the empty streets. "Hang on!" She called out. "And guys, I need backup!"

Kagami grunted, the Grimm tightening its hold on her. "Come on!" Her metal covered fist rammed into its jaw bone. "Let go!" Her eyes then went wide, her arm dropping down as the Beringel opened its mouth and let out a war cry. With wide eyes, her long green hair flew up and around her face as the two continued to fall. "Crap..."

Several seconds away, Kris gritted her teeth and pressed the communicator harder into her ear. "I said backup!" She then blinked, seeing the sunlight reflect light from the top of a building for a split second. "Oh."

Kagami looked over, seeing the glimmer of light. She then smiled, looking back up at the open mouth before her. "I'm not sorry about this." She smirked, seeing a dart glide straight into its mouth and down its throat. The Beringel shook its head, jerking away for a moment. It then bloated for a moment, smoke escaping its mouth as it groaned.

"Bull's eye." Elise grinned, laying across the roof top of another building in the distance. She pulled her head back from her scope, stretching her neck out a bit before taking aim again. She still had Kagami's hoodie on, the warmth of it hard to give up. Her legs were outstretched in woodland camouflage pants that the military use to use. Covering her feet was a pair of brown boots, covered in dirt and mud.

Grinning, Kris jumped on its back and lodged her weapons on the stunned Grimm's arms. "Come on, you dumb thing! Let go!" The wind of falling blew back her trench coat, revealing her green shirt and green sweatpants. Hee black boots dug into the Beringel's back, red laces on the left and green laces on the right.

A moment later, the beast let go. Kagami put her hands on its shoulders and pushed herself up onto its back. "Come on!" She grabbed a hold of Kris, the ground below approaching way to fast now. The two girls jumped up just as the Grim, turned onto its back. It then struck the ground, a wall of dust and debris rising up around it.

Kris and Kagami had bpth grabbed onto the edge of the building, slowly down their speed before jumping down onto the ground below. "Nice job." Kagami panted softly, holding out her hand to which Kris high-fived.

Growling deeply, the large gorilla Grimm started to stand up from where it had crashed down, the dust slowly clearing as the shape of its body became visible.

Kagami took a deep breath, reaching back and drawing her blade. "Alright, come and get some." She muttered and took one step forward. She then junped and flinched backwards, eyes wide as a red and fiery blast struck the beast. As it burst into flames with a deadly cry of rage, she quickly looked around with wide eyes. "What just happened here!?"

"Sorry," Cheyenne said over Kris' communicator. "I think I got a little trigger happy for a moment." She laughed very softly. She too was on a rooftop. She was on one knee, her rifle aiming down at the Beringel below. In the past few months, she had made several changes to the weapon. Now, on the side of the gun, there was a shift. Above it was several different colors in the form of a rainbow. Right now, it was on red.

"Won't happen again!" She smiled innocently, changing the shift to light blue. "But stand back now." She brushed her hair back, taking a deep breath. She had on a sleeveless light brown trench coat that went down to her knees, the collar fluffed up and made of whool. Underneath was a white button up shirt and brown jeans. From her hands to her shoulders, there was light brown fabric wrapped around them. She shifted, her dark brown boots groaning back.

Kris blinked a few times, sighing as she looked up at Kagami. "Chey happened."

The jade haired girl blinked a few times before nodding. "Yeah. I can see that." She stepped back again, a blue blast striking the Grim, before them. It roared, turning to face the two girls. It started to step towards them, skin still ablaze. Finally, it started to step slower and slower, the flames dispersing as its body was in cased in ice.

With it frozen, Kagami darted forward, slicing away its thick legs. The legs shattered like glass as the body and arms flew up. Kris spun her weapons around, the blades popping out at the end. She jumped up, spinning around as she cut of the beast's arms. The torso struck the ground, the ice shattering as the Beringel let out a bloody roar of anger. It started to twist and turn, thrashing around before a dart struck its neck. Its torso went limp, yet it still growled in rage and looked around. A red blast suddenly struck it again, sending pieces of the monster all over the area.

"And there we go." Kagami took a deep breath, walking through the decaying Grimm parts. She reached down, picking up the remains of a cracked and broken Beringel Grimm mask. "One less monster humanity has to face." She took a deep breath, clutching it tight as she looked back at Kris.

The red head flashed a smile, reaching out and catching the mask. "I'll put it with the others." She gave a nod, looking over as the sun disappeared behind the horizon.

"Okay guys, it's late." Cheyenne stood up, stretching out her arms. "I think we shiuld be getting back. It's going to take more than one day to reclaim all of Vale no matter how hard we try."

In Julia Caesar's base, the four girls were downing plste after plate of food. Even Kris found herself devouring more salad than she humanly thought possible.

"Well for the love of Oum," Jess walked up in front of them, her arms crossed. She still wore her same old uniform. "If you guys keep eating like this, Julia will run out lf food for her troops."

Elise let out a large burp, holding out a hand and pointing up at the older red head. "Hey, tracking down Grimm amd survivors is hard work."

"I do it every day." Her eyes narrowed.

The brunet blinked a few times before she lowered her arm. After a second, she quickly went back to devouring her plate of meat.

Kagami chuckled softly as Jess shook her head and rolled her eyes. "I still can't believe Julis let you stay here..." She sighed, shaking her head some more as she turned on her heels and walked off.

"We don't eat that much, do we?" Cheyenne asked, looking at the other three girls.

"Naw," Kris slurped down a peice of veggie bacon. "Jess is just grumpy because Julia is all healed and training started up again. She has to wake up super early, train, then go to work, come back and eat, then train some more so she can sleep."

"I don't think my training is THAT brutal." A female voice spoke behind them.

Kagami glanced back, swallowing a mouth full of noodles. "Captain Caesar."

"In the flesh." The orange haired woman smiled, giving a faint bow before sitting between the team of girls. "Heard you four didn't have a very successful day."

"Nope." Elise sighed, downing an entire sausage.

"Well, you four are still learning." Julia reached over, grabbing a peice of bread from Kris' plate. "You went through what? Just a year at Beacon and only one of you went a combat school. And that was only for two years." She leaned back a little, stretching out hed arms. "If y'all ever want to continue learning, you can always wake up and join my men." She gave a small shrug before standing up. "Plus, I can't exactly let you stay here for free."

"Now who saved your life?" Kagami looked back at her woth a smile.

"Who saved your life three times?" She flashed a grin back.

The jade haired girl nodded slowly, looking back at her food. "Yeah, okay. Fair enough."

Julia chuckled softly, reaching over and ruffling Kris' hair. "You know, your soster really POed me earlier. Please tell me you aren't like her."

"Nope." The young red head took a large bite of salad and looked up. "I'm way worse."

"Wonderful." The captain rolled her eyes, taking a bite of bread before walking off.

Cheyenne yawned softly, drinking a glass of water before setting it down. "Before we decide to go or do something else that is crazy, can we go take a naaap... I'm tiiired!"

Kris chuckled softly, finishing her meal. "It's mot even eight yet! Why do you need to sleep?"

"Because I'm tired and want a nap..." The Faunus muttered, laying her head down on the table. "I want to take a naaaaaaaaaap..."

Elise chuckled, her plate of meat completely gone. "You know, sleep is for the weak."

"More like she sleeps for the week." Kagami muttered.

"Hey!" Cheyenne groaned, shoving her leader a bit. "I don't sleep that much!"

"You kinda do though." Kris looked over with a smile.

The Faunus groaned, glaring at her teammates before sighing as she stood up. "Whatever." She sighed and crossed her arms. "Are you three finished?"

"Yep." Kris gave a nod, Elise standing up with a nod of her own.

Kagami quickly slurped down the rest of her noodles before standing. "Sure am."

Back in their room, which was actually meant for only one person, Elise stretched out her shoulders before sliding off Kagami's hoodie. Underneath, she had on a green and brown flannel shirt which had leather padding on the shoulders. From her roght shoulder down and to the left of her waist was a belt with pouches, each filled with different kinds of darts. The same for a belt which was strapped around her waist. On her back was a pair of brown suspenders that made and x.

"Can I have that back yet?" Kagami asked, pointing at her hoodie.

"Nope." The farm girl said without hesitation, tossing it onto her bed. Since the ceiling was low, they could only stack two beds on top of each other. They then went and pushed two other beds stacked against those two. It was the only way they could make enough room for them.

"You're never getting it back." Cheyenne muttered, flopping down onto her bed with a sigh of relief. "Pretty sure she claimed it for herself."

"I agree." Kris kicked off her boots, letting her trench coat fall to the floor as she toosed her hat aside. She flopped down on the bed next fo Cheyenne.

"So," Elise sat down, twirling in a spinning chair. "Since those two are about to crash, how about a nice little bed time poem, Kagami?"

The jade haired girl glanced at her, sighing some before walking over to a dresser. She puleld out a draw, reaching in a taking out her leather book. Next to it, inside the dresser, Aero's book sat. "Alright, alright. New or old?"

"New!" All three girls said in unison.

She rolled her eyes, leaning up against a wall as she flipped through the old pieces of paper. "Alright. Alright. Here..." She stopped at a page and nodded. She then began to read.

 _I am not gold, nor am I silver_

 _No hint of bronze, no innocent chilver_

 _At the end of the final battle_

 _When the ground begins to rattle_

 _Citizens may be treated like cattle_

 _For I am not a god, I can't do the impossible_

 _I am not a hero, I can't do the incredible_

 _I can't raise mountains or spilt rivers_

 _I can't stop them or cease a child's fever_

 _I am me_

 _And that's all I'll ever be_

 _With my mistakes and all_

 _I'll still stand tall_

 _I don't care if I'm not a god_

 _Or a hero with my own ballade_

 _I know I can't raise the dead_

 _Their memories etched into my head_

 _But I know I can still fight_

 _Until the end of the darkened night_

When she was done, Elise shot to her feet and started clapping. "Woo! Yay!" She then shrunk down, seeing Kagami's disapproving glare.

"You know..." Cheyenne sighed, sinking into her pillow. "I think we all needed that after today."

"You know," Kris sat up, letting her feet hang off the foot of the bed. "You're really good at that. Each poem I hear from you... they are always so amazing. I don't understand how you do it."

The jade haired girl gave a small shrug, closing her book and putting it away. "It's nothing really."

"It's something, really." Elise responded, stretching out her arms. "So do you want to go and practice or do you just want to sleep?"

"I think a little practice won't hurt." Kagami gave a nod.

"Well while you two do that..." Kris trailed off as Cheyenne started to snore. She shook her head and stood up. "While you two go do that, I'm going to go take a shower."

As the red head stepped into the bathroom, Elise and Kagami both left the room, leaving Cheyenne to sleep as much as she needed.

Sitting under the stars in the sky, Kagami took a deep breath with her hands in her lap. Her eyes shut as she slowed her breathing down.

"Alright," Elise sat in front of her, staring up at the moon. Try to think of a moment in your life when you wanted to do something but couldn't. Use that to drive you right now." She looked back at her leader. "Use that feeling to project your aura into your semblance."

Kagami took a deep breath, slowly nodding. She was going to learn how to use her semblance. She couldn't rely on the power her ancestors gave her forever. So her mind slowly drifted, bringing her back to the time she shoved Valentine off the cliff. She might not have been able to recall what happened, but her mind still remembered.

There she was, falling and falling. "Why you dumb butch!" Valentine cried, gripping Kagami's right shoulder tight. The pink haired woman's fist came crashing down, striking her in the head over and over. "Now we are both going to die!" Taking each blow as well as she could, Kagami reached up and caught the fist striking her. When she did though, the hand holdimg her shoulder moved to her neck and gripped tight.

Currently, Elise riased an eyebrow, seeing Kagami's start to sweat. Only a small droplet dripped down the side of her cheek though. "Huh?" She let out, seeing the muscles on her friend flex.

In Kagami's mind, Valentine gave off a cry of rage, squeezing Kagami's neck extremely tight. The jade haired girl held onto the woman's arm tighter, the two twirling around in midair as the fell. With jaw clenched and teeth showing, Kagami groaned at the incoming water. This was bad on all levels. She tried to breath, only to jerk and shut her eyes tight. She opened one eye, staring up at the woman. Out of nowhere, her left arm began to glow with strange green marking on it.

Meanwhile, Elise leaned forward, watching as a thick green aura surrounded Kagami. "Alright... keep going... come on..."

Back in Kagami's mind, she stared at her glowing arm for a moment before looking up. She gritted her teeth, moving her left hand to grip Valentine's face. When she did, the woman gave off a scream, the sadistic and cold gold eyes fading into blue before they two of them struck the water hard. Then blackness came.

Elise jumped to her feer and moved back as the cloth around Kagami's left and and her left sleeve blew off, the fabric falling to the ground in a bright light. Kagami's eyes shot open as she leaned forward, panting heavily. "How... was that...?"

Elise smiled from ear to ear, reaching down and helping her friend up. "That... was really cool."

Back in their room, as Kris crawld back into bed, Elise and Kagami came back inside. "Well hell... what did you two do?"

Kagami glanced down at her bare left arm, shrugging some. "Really havd no idea." She mumbled as she crawled into her bed above Kris.

"She's unlocking and learning her semblance quick, that is what is happening." Elise muttered, jumping into her bed above Cheyenne. She couldn't help but groan as she hit her head on the ceiling.

Kris chuckled, curling up in her bed. "Suuure..." She trailed off with a yawn.

"So..." Kagami pulled her blanket over her. "About Captain Caesar's offer..."

"I think it would be cool. I mean, we do need to learn a lot mlre before we go off on our own."

"That's true..." Kris gave a slow nod. "Plus, I'd love to beat my sister at something."

"So we're going to let her teach us then?" Kagami raised an eyebrow.

Elise gave a nod, getting comfortable. "Don't see why not."

"Then it's settled." The leader of team MACE shut her eyes and yawned. "Tomorrow... well do it."

Silence overcame the team for at least a minute. It almost seemed as if they were all about to fall asleep before Elise shifted and groaned. "Guuuys... we forget to turn off the lights! Someone get up and do it!"


	46. It All Starts Again

As the morning sun rose over the horizon, the darkened sky slowly lit up in shades of yellow and a pale pink, eventually turning blue. Just like every other day, the world of Remnant kept spinning on and on despite what was accouring on its surface.

"Let's see..." Nihilus sighed a bit, searching through a few cabinets in the small house where the group of reckless criminals saught refuge in. Abandoned village or not, the place was rather decent and perfect for anyone. Exspcialy runaways.

He reached in, pulling out a dusty jar of basil, one of parsley, and another of garlic. He set them down, cleaning them off with his hoodie, his sleeves now rolled up. He now had on a pair of black jeans, a few rips and tears here and there on them.

Blowing his shaggy hair from his eyes, he steoped over and opened a fridge. Luckily, Thanaton and him were able to get that working along with a few other necessaties in this place. And even more luckily, they were still criminals. A quick trip to the nearest villiage or even Vale if it was a must, and they would have enough food to last quit a while.

Nihilus pulled out a carton of eggs as well as a bottle of milk and some cheese. He set all three on the counter before opening another cabinet and pulling out a bowl. As he started to mix all he had on the ingredients on the counter together in the bowl, he started to whistle.

Eventually, he went back to the fridge, pulling out a pack of bacon. He placed two strips in an x shape in a frying pain on a stove, and with a little help from a fire Dust crystal, it started to heat up. He poured some of the egg mixture over the bacon in the center, letting it cook together. Soon enough, the smell of food filled the air.

The second the aroma hit Thanaton's nostrils, her eyes shot open wide. She immediately sat up in the bed she was sleeping in and jumped up, dragging the blanket behind her. "Nilly is cooking!" She cheered, skipping down the halls.

Giving a sigh, in her own room, Maya slowly opened her eyes. She was currently curled up under a thick wool blanket, staring at the wall. Though it had been months since the Fall of Beacon, she still wasn't the same. She sat up slowly, bags under her sleepless eyes and her hair a mess. The blanket fell from her shoulder, showing her plain light brown shirt and a glimpse at her brown sweatpants with a few holes.

She took a deep breath, placing her bare feet on the floor before standing up slowly. "Shut up! Thanaton!" She snapped. In the past months, she slowly got back to the usual routine. All the sneeking around and hiding and stealing. She couldn't tell if she was over Fid and Fif, but she had definitely pushed their memories to the deepest part of her mind.

Leaning on the counter with his arms crossed, Nihilus smiled as he watched his twin sister down bite after bite of the breakfast he made for her. "You're the best cook ever!" She deemed before shoving a piece of bacon and egg into her mouth.

Maya gave a soft smile, giving a nod as she swallowed her bite and looked up at him. "You truly are an amazing cook."

He simpky shrugged back. "I'm alright if anything." He glanced at the empty seat across from him. He pushed himself up, walking away. "I'll be back."

In her room, the pink haired woman paced back and forth before stopping in front of a mirror. She looked up, glaring at her reflection with gold eyes. "What the hell did that bitch do to me!?" She roared, sahking her head around.

She reached up, gripping her hair tight. Looking back up at the mirror, her eyes were once again a pale blue. "Did to us..." She muttered quietly before groaning.

She lowered her head, gripping the edge of the mirror tight. She growled deeper, glaring up again. "I can't over poer you anymore... what is this?! What did she do?!"

"Agh!" She dropped her head down, her arms lowering as she took several deep breaths. She looked hack up, gulping as she blinked her blue eyes. "I don't know... all I know is... Kagami is going to get rid of you one day... and I'll be free..."

"Aaahhh!" She jerked away, hands grabbing her head as she stumbled back. Peiring through her fingers and pink hair, she opened one of her golden eyes. "You know that's impossible. I am a part of you know. You can't get rid of me..."

She trailed off, gripping her head again as she thrashed her head around. After a moment, she inhaled deeply and stood up straight, her eyes blue. She took another deep breath, letting her shoulders move back and relax. "And you can't overrun me anymore."

Standing outside the door with his hand on the knob, Nihilus blinked a few times. Slowly, he pulled his hand away and turned around, heading back to the kitchen. He had heard the whole conversation and took note of a certain detail.

Kagami was going to try and split Valentine and Val apart. Even after everything that happened, she was going fo help her. He shook his head some, giving a sigh as he stuck his hands in his pockets. Deep down, he had always wanted to do such, he just never thought it was possible. Or how it would even be possible.

He paused for a moment, blinking a few times. He slowly glanced back at the door, his eyebrows raised. Were those two one being, or was one of them forced into that body and if so, who was the real owner of that body. Even after over a decade and a half with her, Nihilus had no clue who she truly was or where she even came from.

As the clock struck seven that morning, Jess chuckled softly, kneeling down in front of tje four MACE girls who were laying face down on the ground. "Oh don't tell me you guys are tired. That was just a good morning run. After we eat breakfast it will ne way worse." She grinned, patting her younger sister's back.

Kris groaned, slowly glaring up while panting heavily. "I hate you..." She shoved her face back into the ground.

The older red head couldn't help but laugh, brushing her hair behind her ear. "I thought this morning you were ready to kick my ass and show me who's boss?"

Lshe groaned more, putting her hands over her ears. "Shut uuuppp..."

"Jessica!" Julia suddenly snapped, marching over.

Said red head shot to her feet, gulping some as she stood up straight and looked ahead. "Julia, ma'am!"

The orange haired captain crossed her arms, smiling as she stepped up next to her. "You know, I remember your first day with me." She grinned a little, seeing Jess' face go red. "You couldn't even keep up with my men and I." She motioned to the team practically dying at their feet. "These four finished in time with us."

"I-" Jess gritted her teeth, stopping herself. She took a deep breath, looking away. "I remember that too..."

"So don't ne so hard on the little ones." Julia smiled, picking up Elise by Kagami's hoodie and placing her down on her feet. "They did pretty good." She patted the brunet's back.

Elise groaned back in response, her body falling forward and collapsing onto the ground. "I can't breathe..." She muttered, sweat dripping dowm the side of her face. "I wanna go back to sleep..."

"Well..." Julia rubbed the back of her head before sighing. "They at least tried." She tried to smile only to sigh and shake her head. She knelt down, poking at Cheyenne. "Hey, you still alive?"

"Yeeeees..." The Faunus groaned out, rolling onto her back. Her hair was pulled up into a ponytail currently yet still managed to be a mess. "I wasn't born... to run... that much..."

"Oh, come on." The captain reached over, nudging Kagami's shoulder. "It was only five kilometers."

"Five kilometers at a near sprint the whole way..." Kagami slowly moved her head to look up. Her hair too was in a pony tail. "That's madness..."

"Well maybe if you cut that hair of yours," Julia stood up. "You wouldn't have it getting in your way all the time and getting hot and sweaty."

"Hell no!" Kagami was suddenly a fair distance away from the group, standing up with near razors for teeth as she glared over. "No one if coming anywhere near my hair eith scissors! I've been growing it out since I was thirteen!"

Elise blinked slowly, pushing herself up to look back at her leader. "I... had no idea you liked your hair so much..."

"I don't!" She gritted her teeth some. "I couldn't care less!"

"So why don't you want to cut it...?" Cheyenne slowly looked over with raised eyebrows. "It would probably help out a lot..."

Julia blimked a few times, crossing her arms with a faint smile. "Five years ago, eh? I see."

"See what?" Elise looked up at her, blowing her brown hair from her eyes.

"Met you on Vytal four years ago, right?" The captain asked Kagami.

The jade haired girl gave a nod, slowly stepping back towards them. "Yep."

"Got it." She nodded, looking down at Elise. "So five years ago, a year before Jimmy decided we needed the Dust buried under Vytal, Kagami's life was normal."

Cheyenne blinked once, looking down before at her leader. "Oh."

Kagami took a deep breath, slowly nodding as she crossed her arms. "Yeah... it..." She glanced down at the long ponytail. "It reminds me of way back when... when my mother and I drank tea and watched the sun set and... everything was calm..."

"You know," Elise stood up, dusting herself off. "You should go back to Vytal. We would surely tag along."

Kagami glanced up, shaking her head softly. "Not... not yet..."

Cheyenne blinked a bit, giving a nod as she too stood. "Well when you are ready, we'll be there." She smiled.

Julia couldn't help but smile at the group of girls. She turned around, walking away. "You five hurry up, breakfast doesn't last forever! And Jess," She glanced back with a grin. "Help your sister up."

Groaning, the older red head looked down at her sister, nudging her head with the tip of her shoe. "Come on... wake up..."

"I... don't think she is gettig up." Cheyenne muttered, scratching at her antlers.

Jess groaned again, reaching down and picking up her sister. She threw Kris over her shoulder, grumbling as she carried her off.

Elise chuckled softly, following behind with a hug grin.

"You know..." Cheyenne glanced at her leader as she stepped up next to her. "I'm sure your mother misses you." She gulped some. "I know what it's like to be away from your family for a long time."

Kagami blinked a little, giving a sigh as she stuck her hands into her pockets. "I know... I just..." She sighed again. "I'm not ready myself to go back to that place. When an Atlas soldier cuts up your back and your mother forces you to leave to protect you... you're kinda afraid to go back..."

The Faunus gave a sigh, slowly nodding. "I get that. When... before I was taken into the White Fang... I lived in a poor Faunus village off side of Vale. Dad was crippled but before he was apart of some shady business and owed a lot of people lien. One day... they came to collect his debts and everything went south... they took me and probably killed my mom... I could go back..." She took a deep breath and sighed. "But I'm way too afraid to..."

Kagami glanced at her, giving a soft sigh and looking down. "I'm sorry..." She mumbled before looking up again. She placed a hand on her shoulder, smiling some. "Not all scars are visible, I know that for sure. Now come on." She started to walk forward, nudging her head. "Let's go eat. I'm starving after that run."

Cheyenne couldn't help but smile, giving a nod as she followed. "Me too."

Far away, in the main city, inside a nightclub known for its mischief, Eri sat at a table, swirling a drink around with three ice cubes in her right hand. She couldn't help but flash a smile at what was before her.

"She cut my face though!" Tohopka shouted, waving his tattooed hand out towards Eri. He lifted up his other hand, rubbing across the thin cut on his face. "She broke through my aura and almost killed me! Why are you letting her in here again!?

"Hush, hush." Mrs. Sanguine waved her hand. "That is exactly why she is here. She was able to harm you. Twice. Which impressed me." Her blood red eyes trailed to the short blonde. "Now tell me... I've done research on you in the past few months. You are very difficult to discover anything about." She smiled.

"Thank you." Eri smiled, tipping her drink towards her before she took a drink of it.

She smiled a little more, sitting down in a chair across from her. "You broke into my club once, and I let you go after our little talk. You left, and I learned every little detail about you. Killed your parents at sixteen, stabbed your first government official at seventeen, became a well known criminal at nineteen, and run from the police, skipping from kingdom to kingdom until she was finally caught in Vale at twenty-one, then two years later somehow breaking out." She grinned. "And oh the lives that fell when you did."

"Just me having a little fun." She smiled a little more. "Blood helps with this youthful glow of mine." She took another drink before setting the glass down.

"Then you come back at my request, almost kill Tohopka once again, and now are sitting in fort of one of the most powerful crime bosses in all of Remnant." She leaned forward, clasping her hands together. "What does the infamous killer want?"

Eri grinned, leaning forward as she licked her lips. "I want to help ruin this city and take control from the ashes. And I know you're going to plan on doing that. Any crime lord would at this point. Expecially one as good as you."

Mrs. Sanguine smirked, leaning back in her chair as she looked up at Tohopka. "I like her."

"She seems like she would be helpful." Katie finally walked up to her mother, holding a small light brown chihuahua in her arms and gently stroking its head. "Coco isn't even showing his teeth at her. I think he likes her." She glanced down at the dog with a smile.

"I don't like her." Tohopka grumbled, crossimg his arms as his muscles flexed.

"Well, alright." Mrs. Sanguine leaned forward, smiling at Eri. "You have my attention, a lot of my attention. But before you join me, my daughter, and Tohopka, you hsve to prove yourself."

"Say what it is," Eri finished her drink, standing up as she slammed the cup down onto the table. "And I'll do it." She pulled her hand away from the cup, the left over ice spinning in a circle at the bottom as a small crack slowly grew into a large one.

Later that night, as an exhausted team MACE got ready for bed, Elise glanced up to see Kagami changing into a black sweatshirt. She never bothered to look before, but after today, she decided to at least ask to see. "Hey, Kagami?"

The jade haired girl glanced up, her eyebrows raising. "Yeah?" She looked at the brunet.

With a faint gulp, Elise slowly looked down. "That one time when Dion knocked you out cold and we saw the scars on your back..." She glanced at Cheyenne and Kris. "Neither of us really got a good look at them..." She trailed off, rubbing the back of her head.

Cheyenne blinked a few times, she too was now wondering the same as Elise. So she spoke up and finished the brunet's thoughts. "Could... we see them...?"

Kagami blinked a few times, her eyebrows raising a bit. She glanced around vefore looking at Kris. "Do you want to see them too?"

The red head blinked a few times before giving a small shrug as she kicked off her shoes. "I'll admit I've always wanted a good look at them. But I... always felt to awkward to ask..."

She blinked a little more, glancing down at the floor. Taking a deep breath, she moved her long jade hair out of the way and slid off her green and black shirt, tossing it to the side. "Sure... why not." She turned around, pulling her hair over her left shoulder.

The three other girls slowly stepped closer, coming within arms distance of Kagami.

Even though a black bra covered part of the mutilated skin, it was still visible. From her right shoulder down to her left ribcage, there was a long mark. The second was from her left shoulder blade down to the lower right part of her back. The third mark on her skin was fom the bottom of her left ribcage up to the bottom of her right shoulder blade. The fourth was from her left shoulder down to her the middle of her right shoulder blade. The fifth started just below her neck and went down to the lower left of her spine. The sixth was from her right hip up to her left ribcage. And the last one, it was straight acrosscher back from side to side.

"Holy Oum..." Cheyenne muttered quietly, staring at the pale skin and then the disfigured lines stretching across it.

"And you had this happen to you at fourteen..." Elise bit her lip, unable to look away. She couldn't even imagine that type of pain.

"Can I..." Kris trailed off, looking up at Kagami.

"Go ahead." She nodded back.

The red head nodded in return, slowly lifting her hand to trail across one of the marks. "That's... insane..."

Kagami gave a small, showing a kind smile ascshe reached over and pulled her black sweatshirt on. "I'm just happy they don't hurt anymore. It took months before they were completely healed."

"I can't believe an Atlas soldier would do that..." Cheyenne looked down.

"Pretty sure he was drunk too." Kagami half chuckled, putting her hands behind her head. "Now that I think about it, he probably was."

Kris couldn't help but smile at how her leader could still laugh after something like that. And here she was complaining about her divorced parents and what they do. "Well now that's done." She plopped down onto her bed. "If y'all want me to wake up in the morning, we are sleeping now!"

"Yeaaaaah..." Kagami glanced around, slowly climbing into her bed. "How about we train with Captain Caesar every other day."

"I fully agree!" Cheyenne held up a finger, falling onto her bed.

Elise rolled her eyes, flicking off the light switch. "Okay, even I'll admit, that was pretty brutal today." She jumped into her.

"Let's never talk about it again..." Kris trailed off, yawning.

"Agreed." The brunet mumbled, curling up under her blanket.

Several miles away from the city of Vale, on the outskirts of Grimm territory, a group of bandits were setting up camp for the night. With a dimly lit fire which was now turning to red hot ambers, most of the men and women of the group were sleeping straight on the cold hard ground without any type of blanket. Near the middle though, a man with jade colored hair that was braided was looking down at a map with a flashlight. The city he was looking at was none other than Vale.

"I've jeard rumors the entire academy has fallen there." One man next to him spoke up. "And their defenses are super low too right now because of that attack, boss."

"I see..." The man with the flashlight nodded.

"I saw we attack from the east." A young woman was laying on the ground, eyes shut with her hands nehind her head. Like the man, she too had the same green hair. Her hair though was cut short to her shoulders.

"You're not even looking at the map, Jade." Another man spoke up. "How do you kmow we should raid the place from the eastern end."

"Dunno." She shrugged, sitting up. She opened her eyes, revealing their tea green color. She looked up at the man with the flashlight. "What do you think, dad?"

He gave a sigh, looking up from the map and down at his daughter with narrowed pale green eyes. "I say the south."

"Whatever." Jade rolled her eyes, laying back down with her hands behind her head. "You never listen to me anyway."

"You have one crazy daughter." A female bandit spoke up, looking towards the clear leader of the group. "But then again she is your daughter and you're crazy too, Shinrin."

"Oh, ignore her." He waved his hand. "She's just grumpy she didn't find anything nice at that last village." He smiled some, shaking his head as he turned off the light. "Good night, Jade. I love you."

She grumbled a bit, shutting her tea green eyes as she rolled over. "Love you too, dad."


	47. Time To Say Hello

"Well the city seems pretty dead today." Kris mumbled, walking with her hands behind her head. She sighed, pushing her red fedora over her eyes with her thumbs. "This is so boring." She sighed again.

"Oh, stop complaining." Elise walked nexf to her, the other two members of the team a little ways behind. "You'll jynx us and something crazy will happen. I don't feel like dealing with that."

"I think some crazy right about now would be fun..." The red head mumbled, letting her arms fall as she crossed them. "Anything would be fun."

"You know, guys!" Kagami called out to those in front of her. "I think we hit a bust over here. I think it's time to head back to the main part of the city."

Kris groaned, her shoulders dropping as she turned around on her heels and started back. "This was so boring today! I wanted to at least meet something!"

"A day of rest and just walking around isn't that bad." Cheyenne smiled, hands in her pockets. "I kinda like it. It's like back when we were at Beacon... and we just walked the streets for fun or to pass the time."

"I honestly like not having to deal with monsters or criminals or school or anything." Elise smiled. "It's kinda like back on my farm. Minus chores and hunting for dinner. No offense." She glanced at Kris.

The red head gave a small shrug as the team started to head back to the main part of the city. "Nome taken. At least not anymore." She flashed a smile, looking up at the brunet.

Back in the middle of the Vale, everything was slowly returning to normal. Cafés were reopening, same with other stores and restaurants. While the aftermath of the Fall of Beacon and the Attack on Vale was still fresh in everyone's minds, the rehabilitation of the city and citizens were slowly moving along.

Sitting at a table, team MACE broke into a faint laughter. Kris herself had a large cup of soda while Cheyenne had a steaming hot cup of expresso. Elise and Kagami both had a cup of tea. Elise with salted caramel black tea and Kagami with straight green tea.

"If I didn't know any better," Cheyenne smiled as she took a sip of her drink. "I am still pretty sure Professor Port would have a better chance of dating Ms. Goodwitch than General Ironwood."

"Oh come on!" Elise groaned, leaning forward. "Ironwood doesn't even look that bad! He's actually really fine looking. I saw him during the tournament."

Kris rolled her eyes, putting her hand on the table. "Please, mh aunt complains all the time about James. She honestly can't stand him."

"Well you can't tell me Ironwood isn't fine!" Elise looked at Kagami. "What do you think? He's fine, right?"

"I think..." The green haired girl sighed, setting her cup of tea down. "I think you are all craxy for... shipping... these people with someone else." She shook her head. "What does shipping even mean?"

The three other girls sighed a bit before going back to talking. As they went on, Kagami suddenly noticed a figure in a white hood looking over at them. She blinked once, standing up. "I'll be right back, guys."

"Huh?" Cheyenne raised an eyebrow, watching her leader walk off and head down an alley.

Sighing, Elise stood. "I'll go get her. My tea is a little to hot to drink anyway." She followed. "Don't know what her problem is." She grumbled

Walking dowm the alley, the brunet blinked as she saw nothing but a dumpster. "What?" Her eyebrows raised as she walked farther down. "Where did... what?" She looked around rapidly, small pebbles falling down onto the ground.

Up on the rooftop above, on the building next to the alley, Kagami softly panted as golden eyes faded from gold to light blue. She then blinked, her eyes changing back to their pale green. "What are you doing here?" She gritted her teeth.

Standing in front of her, Nihilus took a deep breath, sticking his hands into his pockets. "I came to get more food." He said calmly.

"You mean steal food?" Her eyes narrowed.

"Buy." He corrected, flashing some lien.

She tensed a bit, eyes narrowing. "And where did you get that? Did you steal it? Once a criminal always a criminal."

He rolled his eyes, glancing up at the sun before at her. "I'm not fighting just to be fighting. I'm fighting for myself. You don't have to worry about it." He half smirked just barely. "Besides, it's not like I'm stalking you. I just happemed to see you. So I decided to warn you."

"Warn me about what?" She took a small step back.

"About this." His eyes flashed gold before she could respond. Siddenly, he was gripping her shirt tight with his eyes narrowed into hers. "Do not use this. Ever. You won't have to worry about me doing something illegal or killing someone. I won't. But if you go and keep trying to use this curse..." His eyes narrowed much more as he tightened his grip on her shirt. "It will kill you." He suddenly appeared away from her, brushing off his sleeves. "Now if you don't mind, I need to find something to cheer Val up."

Kagami blinked a few times, still in slight shock about whag had just happened. She shlok her head, taking a small step towards him. "How... is she...?"

He paused, glancing back. "What do you care?"

"I... promised I'd help split her and that demon..." She muttered quietly.

Nihilus stopped, looking back at her. "Split... Val and Valentine...? You know how to do that?" The real question was how that was even possible.

"Well, not yet." She rubbed the back of her head. "But I promised I would... so I will."

He blinked a few times, flashing an actual smile as he looked away. "If you ever figure out anything... come back to this rooftop." The next second, he was gone completely.

Kagami blinked, quickly looking around before sighing. He was no where to be seen and she knew she knew she wasn't going to find him no matter how hard she looked.

Down on the ground below, Elise was bent over, playing with a few stones and moving them around. "Well this is awkward... I can't just go back with no one..." She sighed, her back facing the opening of the alley to the streets.

Walking down the sidewalk, a womam who Elise never thought she would see in the city stopped at the opening. Stepping up next to her, a large man holding three baby boys raised his eyebrows. "Something wrong, Eleanor?"

"That's..." Eleanor blinked several times, staring at the person hunched over in the alley. The only thing she took note of was the hoodie though. More importantly, the symbol on the back of the hoodie. "Klein... that's..." She started to walk forward, her eyes wide and face nearly pale.

"Honey?" Klein's eyebrows raised.

Not even listening, Eleanor continued forward. She reached out, grabbing the shoulder of the person. "M-Midori...?" She muttered quietly.

"Huh?" Elise looked up with an innocent look on her face. A smile then formed, her eyes lighting up with joy. "Mama!" She suddenly tackled her mother to the ground with a hug. "I've missed you so much!"

"Hey, hey there!" Klein chuckled, walking down. "There's my girl! You've grown so much!"

"Papa!" The brunet jumped to her feet, bolting towards her father. She stopped though, blinking a few times. "Wait... who's... are those?" She pointed at the three infants in his arms.

"Oh." He looked down at them. He gently motioned them towards her in his arms. "Meet your brothers." He smiled brightly.

"...what..." She let out, her face going red as she quickly look between her mother and father. "Wait! Ew ew ew ew ew! No! I didn't need that picture in my head! No! No! No!"

He rolled his eyes, smiling. "They are Hunter, Hugo, and Harold. They are rather nice when sleep but when awake..." He awkwardly chuckled. He then blinked, looking at his wife behind his daughter. "Eleanor?" His brows raised.

Elise looked back, blinking. "Mama?"

"That hoodie..." Eleanor muttered quietly, her face still pale. "Where did you..." She trailed off. She then yelped, a blur of green landing next.

Kagami blinked a few times, looking at Elise before at the woman and man then back at Elise. "Hold on, what did I miss?" She blinked rapidly.

Staring at the jade haired girl with wide eyes, Eleanor didn't know what do say or do. "You're not her... but... you look like her..." She muttered quietly.

"Huh?" Kagami raised her eyebrows.

"Oh! Kagami!" Elise smiled, pointkng at Klein. "This is my papa! And apparently three little brothers..." She groaned before skipping over to Eleanor. "And this is my mama!" She smiled. "Oh! You guys have to meet Cheyenne and Kris!" She jumped up amd down with glee, grabbing Kagami by the wrist and dragging her back to the restaurant.

"Are you alright?" Klein quietly asked his wife.

Eleanor blinked a few times before gulping. She shook her head. "You remember about... that team of mime I told you about?" She glanced up. When he nodded back she sighed, rubbing her arms. "I think... that's her daughter..."

"Oh." He blinked a bit, slowly nodding. "Well, come on." He nudged her. "Your daughter would like you to meet her friends."

Back at the table, Elise went on and on, explaining every detail about the past year. Well, aside from a few details she knew her mother wouldn't approve of. Like being beaten to near death and sneeking around at night.

She then stopped, blinking a few times. "Hold on..." Her head tilted. "Why are you guys here?"

"Uh well..." Klein rubbed the back of his head. Just then, one of the newborns gave off a cry. He quickly dodged the question, going go tend to him.

"So you four met Aero..." Eleanor gave a heavy sigh, looking down with a faint gulp. Slowly, she looked up. "She still isn't here... in town... is she?"

"I think she said she was going to help rebuild Vale." Cheyenne said. "She's probably around here somewhere."

"Uh huh..." The older woman nodded.

"That reminds me!" Elise shot to her feet, pointing at her mother. "Aero said you had a tattoo!"

Eleanor's face went red as she went quiet. "That's... none of her... business..." She muttered quietly.

"Well I want to see it!" The young farm girl demanded. "Right now!"

"Elise-" She was cut off.

"Right now!" She demanded again

"Oh for the love of..." Eleanor reached up, pinching the bridge of her nose. Slowly, she stood up amd turned around. Pulling up her shirt just a bit, a black drawn tattoo showed itself on her lower back. It was of two snowy mountains next to each other, above them the moom. After a few seconds, she quickly pulled her shirt back down and sat. "There."

"Cool..." Elise smiled, sitting back dowm herself. "Can I get a tattoo too?" She suddenly blurted out.

"For Oum's sake, no!" Her mother shot back. "Are you crazy!?"

"Why nor?" Elise whined. "I want one too! Of a heart! Over my heart!"

"I said no!" She shot back.

As the two bickered on, Kagami leaned over towards Klein. "You know... it's really hard to believe they are mother and daughter. They are so... opposite..."

"You should have seen them when she was younger." He chuckled.

"Klein!" Eleanor snapped.

"S-Sorry, honey!" He nearly fell put of his chair.

"I'll just get one without your permission..." Elise muttered.

"That's probably not a good idea..." Cheyenne sighed, shaking her head. "She's not listening to me."

"Don't worry, Chey." Kris patted her back. "I am. And watching this really entertaining conversation of this family." She chuckled.

"Wait..." Elise calmed herself, raising her eyebrows at her parents. "So why... are you guys here?"

"Well..." Klein looked over at Eleanor with a gulp. "Elise... look..." He trailed off, looking down.

"What?" The small brunet raised her eyebrows.

"Elise... listen..." Eleanor looked down herself, sighing. "I'm not... exactly sure how to explain this..."

"But..." Klein spoke up. "Grimm came out of nowhere... and it seems Vale has seen better days too... but those monsters came out of nowhere..."

"We had to leave..." His wife took a deep breath, looking up. "We barely got out with out lives... we had to leave everything..."

"You mean... it's all... gone..." The everlasting smile on Elise's face slowly disappeared. Her brown eyes watering up. "All... my room... m-my home..."

"Yes." Her father slowly nodded. "Yes..."

Cheyenne herself tensed up, her hands fidgeting together as she looked around. Kris gulped some, slowly reaching out and putting a hand on Elise's thigh.

Before the red head could say anything, Elise shot to her feet and jerked away. "Wait!" Tears were now clearly visible in her eyes. "What about Jelly Bean!?" Her voice cracked.

Klein looked up before looking back down. When Eleanor didn't even more, Elise knew the truth. The silence spoke for itself. She shoved her chair away, quickly turning around and running away.

Kagami quickly stood, her eyes full of concern. She glanced at the parents of her teammate. "Jelly Bean?" Her brows raised.

Klein bit his lip, looking up. "It was a horse we got for her. She was rather crazy but Elise was able to tame her. She was a beautiful beast too... she was as heavy as could be. I could barley even pick her up. And boy could she run..." He looked down. "Her muscles were like madness..." He sighed.

"She ran into an Ursa so we would have time to run off..." Eleanor mumbled. "She saved us... but... an animal doesn't ever have a chance against a Grimm..." She sighed.

Kagami sighed, sticking her hands in her pockets. "I'll go get her." She muttered before turning around and running after her friends.

"Um... sooo..." Kris blinked rapidly, looking up at Cheyenne. When the Faunjs shrugged, the red head looked over at the two parents and three newborns. She sighed, lookimg down. She knew Cheyenne was thinking the same thing.

Triplets.

After the sun had set, Kagami was walking through the trees of the Emerald Forest, doing her best to follow the trail of muddy footprints and not miss them. When she started to hear quiet sobbing, she looked up from the tracks and followed the sound. Coming to a clearing, she softly sighed at the sight of Elise with her knees buried in her chest and arms wrapped aroumd them. In front of her, there was a drop, revealing a peaceful view.

"Hey there." Kagami spoke quietly.

Elise flinched, glancing up before shoving her face back into her knees.

Kagami sighed again, sitting down slowly beside her. She placed her book filled with poems down before reaching over and rubbing the brunet's back. "Elise...?" She spoke softly.

Her whimpering slowly died down before she looked up. She sniffed, her eyes burning red as tears fell from her face."What...?"

She smiled back, nudging her a bit. "What what? You're my friend and you're crying. Of course I'm going to show up."

She sniffed again, rubbing her eyes. "It's... it's not fair..." She lowered her head back down, gritting her teeth as more tears started to fall. "Before I left to come here... I told her I would be back soon... I'd be back and ride her till the end of time..." She shook her head. "She... she was mine... I helped raise her and fed her and spent everyday from when I got her to before I left with her... sh-she..." She tensed, giving off a scream.

Kagami sighed softly, patting her back a little more before bringing her hand back. "Elise-" She was cut off.

"She was my best friend!" She jerked a little. "It's always 'she's just an animal' or 'she doesn't really matter she's not a human'! But she was my best friend! She was always there! On every adventure and every time I came home! She was always there for me! But..." She went quiet. "The... the time she needed me most... I wasn't there for her..." She slowly looked up at Kagami.

The jade haired girl smiled some, tilting her head. "Well... I don't know how to help that much... but I did what I always do..." She reached over, grabbing her book. With another smile, she held it up. "Wanna hear a poem I just wrote?"

Elise sniffed, slowly nodding as she rubbed her eyes. "Always..."

"Good." Kagami smiled back, opening up her book and flipping through the pages. She stopped on the last poem, and read it with the softest voice she could.

 _Hey there baby girl_

 _I know it's a cold cold world_

 _Out there, so unforgiving_

 _Full of endless grieving_

 _But this is not the ending_

 _I know I have ascended_

 _To the stars above, enchanted_

 _But while my story has ended_

 _You can't be so dependant_

 _You have to keep pushing_

 _And keep on enduring_

 _If not for yourself, then for me_

 _And gain stenght from this tragedy_

 _I know I was taken, so unfairly_

 _But I now prance in the Meadow of Harley_

 _Free from any suffering and pain_

 _So pretty please don't go insane_

 _Just remember you and I are not alone_

 _And the first day we said hello_

Elise blinked softly as Kagami shut her book amd set it down. A moment later, Kagami grunted as Elise wrapped her arms around her and began to cry again.

Kagami nodded, wrapping her arms around Elise and patting her back. "It's alright... cry it out... it's going to be alright." She looked up, looking across the horizon at the mountains and trees below. "I promise."


	48. Infinity Mirror

On the Spruce family farm, there was not nearly as many electronics as the inner city of Vale. There were no fancy projectors or street lights. Not even a Dust powered oven or screens of any sorts. There was a wooden stove and a fireplace for warmth in the winter. And of course, lamps to light the way in the darkness of night. One could only imaging the confusion of anyone who lived on this farm when they came to the heart of a big city.

Well, for Cheyenne, Kris, and Eleanor, that problem was a reality.

"So what... does this thing do exactly?" Klein asked while holding a television remote. He tilted his head some, scratching it a bit. He was currently sitting on a couch in an apartment in Vale which he now would he living in.

"Okay, look." Cheyenne reached over, moving his arm and pointing it at the T.V. "I know this is hard to get use to, but press the red button."

"Okay...?" He looked up, pressing said button. He then flinched as the screen lit up with wide eyes. "Whoa..." His eyes sparkled at the color sceme that danced across the television. "That's... really cool... what is this?"

"Right now, it's the news." The deer Faunus mumbled.

"Vox... News... huh? Is it any good?" He asked, looking up at her.

Seeing the report on the Fall of Beacon and the Attack on Vale, Cheyenne simply nodded. "Yeah, it's alright."

"So this is called a... microwave...?" Klein asked while in the kitchen. He blinked several times, trying to open the handleless door. "How do I open it?"

"Okay, look." Kris reached over, pressing on a small bottom button which popped the door open. "There."

"Oh my!" He jumped back before slowly leaning forward again. "What does... this box even do?"

"Ummm, here." Kris climbed on top of the counter and opened a cabinet. On a top shelf, she pulled out a box of popcorn. Reaching in, she pulled out a bag and tossed it to him. "Set this in there and set it for a minute and a half."

"Uh... alright..." He set the bag inside, closing the door. He then blinked, pressing the numbers one, then three and zero. He tilted his head some, pressing the start button. He nearly jumped out of his shoes as the microwave began to hum and turned on. "Holy..." He crossed his arms, leaning forward a little to close and watched the bag turn.

"You shouldn't look... that... close..." The red head sighed, shaking her head some. "Never mind."

"Okay! Okay! Okay! Don't do that!" Eleanor shouted, waving her hands around.

Blinking rapidly, Klein slowly set down the vacuum he was holding down. "So... I'm not suppose to hold it up?"

"No, no, no." She sighed again, grabbing his large arm. "You push it around, like this." She led his hand around. "Like this?"

"Oh. Okay." The large man nodded. "And when I push this around, it cleans things, correct?"

"Yep." His wife stepped back and sighed some. "You're... learning really fast." She smiled weakly before it vanished.

Hours later, the three females plopped down on the couch with heavy sighs of relief. Each of them had slightly messy hair and clothes that showed how exhausted they were.

"He's in the bathroom right now..." Eleanor mumbled, leaning her head back. "We will have some time..."

"Good..." Kris quietly spoke. "I never knew someone could know so little..."

"Same here..." Cheyenne muttered back, leaning across the arm rest.

When the door handle started to turn on the front door, each of them perked their heads up. As the door slwoly opened up, Kagami stepped in with Elise over her shoulder. "She's out cold." The jade haired girl mumbled while kicking the door shut. "I think crying took a lot out of her." She shifted her hand a bit, gently patting the brunet's shoulder. "That, or she was too lazy to walk." She chuckled some.

"So, how's she doing?" Kris asked softly.

"Better." Kagami nodded, stepping towards a recliner and setting Elise in it. "She's doing better."

Eleanor gave a soft sigh, her hands holding each other in her lap. "Neither of us really wanted to tell her... without some preparation... but she's just so determined sometimes... and wants to know answers immediately." She looked down, shaking her head. "She probably hates us now..."

"That's not true." Cheyenne looked up at her. "She's just hurt at the moment. She could never stop loving you guys."

Eleanor smiled, nodding slowly. She then flinched, hearing her husband yell.

"Hey honey!" Klein called from the bathroom. "These mirrors up here are split apart and move! And behind them there are shelves! It's so cool!"

Kagami smiled, looking at the three. "Has he been like this all day?"

"Yes." The three of them all responded at once.

The next morning, team MACE was back at it again with training from Julia. Though, it took a little longer to get there. The group had spent the night in Elise's parent's new apartment and when they left, Eleanor wouldn't stop talking and naming every single thing that could go wrong. Eventually though, the team made it out.

Because of that, the team decided to spend the night back at the Atlas Captain's base.

"And that is why you never see parents or adult figures on stories where children or teenagers run around saving the world." Elise mumbled, yawning as she stretched out her arms while laying in her bed. "Parents are usually too protective and don't want their kids running aroumd being reckless. That's why most stories have orphans or parents that left. Even the Rainbow Time Dancers didn't even have their parents around much! Well... there was Sky and Indy's mother... but she didn't pry into their lives much and actually helped them about when one got hurt. But to make my point their father left them! Well sorta... he was a business man and always gone... and-" She was cut off.

"Elise." Kagami took a deep breath, clearly exhausted from the day of training. "We are all trying to sleep. I knpw you are a book and story enthusiasts... but please."

"We all want to sleep!" Kris snapped, curling up aggressively in her bed. "So everyone shut up!"

As the team fell fast asleep, near the edge of the city a group of bandits stood and circled around. With his face illuminated,the green haired man known as Shinrin spoke. "Okay, listen up. This pathetic excuse for a kingdom is in tatters. Tomorrow, we'll send in a few scouts to see what would be best for the taking. Until then, the rest of you lay low. Understand?" He nodded some, hearing murmurs of agreement. "Good. Jade?"

"Yeah?" Said young woman looked up, brushing some of her green hair nehind her ear.

"You're coming with me." He flashed a smiled, one which his daughter returned.

The next day, the members of team MACE were helping out a soup restaurant hand out free lunch for those living in Vale.

"And here you." Cheyenne smiled, handing a small bowl of noodles and chicken to a Faunus girl with a small alligator tail.

The small Faunus smiled up at her, nodding before rushing off. Elise tilted her head some, smilimg at the small girl who ran off. "She's adorable."

"She's the reason why Huntresses and Huntsmen keep fighting and protecting." Kagami spoke up, handing an elderly womam a bowl of clam chowder.

"Thank you." She nearly spoke in a whisper.

"Here," Kris stepped up, grabbing the boel from the woman and helping her walk. "I'll help you. Where are you going?"

"Just over here..." She muttered, leading the red head.

"This just goes to show," Elise smiled, crossing her arms and looking at Cheyenne and Kagami. "Even in the darkest times, humans and Faunus alike will come together. It's really sweet." She smiled a little more.

"Ain't that true..." Kagami mumbled as Kris came back.

"So there isn't any more people out there." The red head said. "And the owner says we can take a quick break if we want." She eyed the old man who nodded back with a soft grunt.

"Anyone want to take a walk?" Cheyenne asked.

"Sounds nice. We haven't taken an actual walk in a long time. Well..." She chuckled some. "We haven't even taken a normal walk. We always get into some trouble-OW!" She yelped, grabbing her arm.

"Don't jinx it!" Kris snapped, pulling back her fist. She then sighed. "I would kinda like a nice walk. And only a walk."

"I wouldn't mind one either." Kagami added.

Cheyenne rolled her eyes, following the group out. "We don't exactly not get into trouble though..." She whispered to herself.

As the group began to take their walk down the sidewalk, it only lasted a couple minutes before Kris glsnced across the street, noticing a figure cloaked on black walking in the other direction. "Did you see that?"

"Huh?" Cheyenne looked over, blinking a few times. "What?"

"The person in the black cloak." The red head pointed out.

Elise blinked a bit, narrowing her eyes some at said person. Her eyes then widened, the black cloak flowing past and showing one of the figure's ankles. There, three Bs were tattooed in gothic writing. "Oh no..."

"Oh no what?" Kagami glanced over at her.

"It's... the BBB..." She gulped a bit. "Mama only told me a few stories about them, mainly as warnings. Mama knew a lot about a bunch of different bandit groups. It was pretty cool."

"A warning?" Cheyenne raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah..." The brunet nodded. "The BBB, or Bad Blood Bandits are some pretty unsettling people. Decades ago, they were the Bad Blood Brothers, a group of only guys, but after some... heavy loses... they started allwoing females and changed Brothers to Bandits. They're not very friendly at all..." She shook her head.

"So what are they doing here?" Kagami asked, her eyes glancing to the sheathed sword on her back. Earlier, they had decided to take their weapons while giving put the bowls of soup to let people know there was still people out there protecting them.

To the question, Elise's eyes slowly opened wide. "They always send out scouts..." She muttered, looking back at her friends. "Of one is here, there is plenty more to follow!"

"Well then." Kris gave a sigh, crossing her arms. "Look what you've done. You've went and jinxed it. Jack ass."

Elise growled softly, glaring at the red head.

"Come on, guys, relax." Kagami pushed them apart. "We have bigger things to deal with." She smiled. "Let's go." The group immediately turned around, running behind and following the black cloaked figure.

As said figure stepped into an alley, MACE slowly corssed the street and hid behind the edge of the building, peaking inside.

"This is so boring..." The cloaked figure mumbled in a feminine voice. "Dad said he would be here..." She grumbled.

"Well he's clearly not..." Elise whispered. She then flinched, the clocked female twisting around to look at her and her team. "Shoot." She half yelped.

"Elise!" Kris snapped, pulling out her weapons as she bolted forward. "I greatly hate you!"

"Come on!" Cheyenne called, running after Kris. Elise soon followed and behind her Kagami.

"Well at least I get some fun while a wait." A wicked grin formed under the black hood. As Kris jumped up and brought her csndy can weapons down, the hooded figure pulled out a long bowie knife from under her cloak, blocking them both with ease.

Gritting her teeth, Kris pressed a button on her weapons, letting the blades fly out.

Her opponent jerked her head to the left, ducking and dodging away before bribing her arm around to slash at the red head who jumped back just in the knick of time so the blade wouldn't slice her torso oepn.

Over Kiris, Cheyenne hauled herself above her and jumped up. She raised her gun, taking aim. A blast of ice Dust suddenly shot through the air.

The cloaked figured jumped back, the blast striking her blade. She quickly let go, the weapon being concealed in ice which would most likely froze he hand as well. "Well damn..." She muttered.

"Incoming!" Elise shouted, sliding across the ground past the woman, her weapon raised. She flashed a grin and fired a red colored dart.

The hooded woman quickly ducked down, holding out her cloak. Said fabric was struck by the dart which exploded. The fabric catching fire. "Well hell..." She grumbled, reaching to the back of her cloak and pulling it off. She gave a sigh, it flying all around her as she dropped it onto the ground.

With eyes shut and green hair swaying back and forth above her shoulders, she sighed and dropped her arms. "I actually liked that cloak." She wore a pair of black tennis shoes and a socks that were barely even visible. She had on a pair of jeans, the right pants leg cut nearly off it was so short with holes here and there on it. Her shirt was nothing more than a thin and extremely form fittimg tight shirt that showed off a little too much cleavage as well as a pair of wrist protectors on.

She sighed, raising her head as she opened her eyes. "I hope all of you are happy now."

Kris, Cheyenne, and Elise all froze on place, their eyes wide.

"What..." Kris mumbled.

Cheyenne shook her head some, stepping back. "...the..."

"...hell..." Elise murmured.

The three of them quickly looked back at Kagami. Said girl blinked several times, staring at the young woman in front of her. "You have got to be kidding me..." She mumbled.

Blinking rapidly, the green haired young woman flashed a smile, her tea green eyes narrowing at the pair in front of her. "So there is more with out blood?"

Kagami shook her head, quickly raising her sword. "Who are you? Now!"

"Isn't it clear?" She reached into her pants, pulling out a large butterfly knife. "I'm a little Monomane like you. Jade Monomane to be correct."

Silence fell across the group as Kagami gritted her teeth. "Yet you use your gift for evil deeds..."

"And I'm assuming you use them for good." Jade chuckled, lowering her stance. "Now come dance."

Growling softly, the jade haired girl bolted forward while the jade haired woman did the same.

Kris and Cheyenne both stepped back, eyes wide. "Bloody hell..." Elise muttered to herself as she too stepped back.

Both the blades clashed, the two struggling to push each other back. Kagami gritted her teeth, glaring into Jade's eyes. She had no idea about the chain reaction she was about to cause.

Kagami blinked, her eyes changing a darker color as she pulled back and gave off a cry.

Jad too glared back, her eyes going darker as she jumped up.

Kagami did the same, the two of them pushing themselves off each other and into the walls of the alley. They then launched themselves upwards, blinking as their eyes went to an even darker shade of green.

The two clashed blades again, shoving each other back into the walls. Hey both grunted, the sides of the wall slightly cracking as they kicked off and forced themselves towards each other again. Once again, their eyes darkening.

They continued this sequence several times, swapping sides every noow and then as debris from the walls fell to the ground.

On the ground, Elise blinked rapidly with limp arms. "Holy... frickin'... hell..." Was all she could get out as the two jadettes jumped up onto the top of a roof.

Grunting softly with near dark green eyes, the two of them growled, glaring at each other. They both gave off a cry, bolting forward. When their blades locked, Kagami took the chance to side swipe Jade's feet.

The young woman grunted, her back hitting the roof as Kagami managed to disarm her. She kicked the butterfly knife away, only to jump back and dodge several throwing knives.

Glaring, Jade blinked as her eyes went even a darker shade of green. She reached into her shoe, pulling out several more throwing knives. She quickly tossed them, letting Kagami ne distracted by them. She then reached into her waistband, pulling out a dagger.

Kagami blinked, her eyes going into a near black shade of green as she caught a glimmer of light reflecting off the dagger. She twisted around, barely blocking the blade in time.

Jade growled softly, pressing as hard as she could. When her blade started to crack, she pulled back, letting it shatter as she brought her legs around, kicking Kagami's sword from her hand.

The two then glared at each other, raising there fist. "I'm out of blades." Jade narrowed her eyes.

"And I only have one." Kagami half smirked.

The two bolted at each other, crying out as their fist struck each other. They traded blows, blocking each and every one that the other threw at them. Eventually, the each started to pants, sweat forming.

Suddenly the two both felt their feet leave the roof of the building. In their time fighting, they two were so far distracted they hadn't even noticed how close they were getting to the edge.

"Damn it!" Jade shouted, preparing herself to land.

Kagami gritted her teeth, pressing her feet against the front of the building and pushing herself forward some. She landed on the ground a couple seconds before Jade, and having done so, she brought her legs up and kicked the jade haired young woman across the street.

Jade snarled, jer head snapping up as she dug her hands and feet into the ground. They two glared, jumping up and charging towards the center of the street. They bother cried out, trading several blows.

They then both blinked, a car horn sounding. They looked to the side, eyes widening at the large truck heading straight towards them. Both growled, glaring back at each other. They jumped up, feet colliding with each other as they pushed themselves away, just in time for the vehicle to miss them.

Kagami slid across the sidewalk, quickly looking up. Wasting no time, she lunged forward and bolted across the street.

Jade herself stood, brushing herself off with a growl. She glared up, watching as the truck passed by. Her eyes then widened as Kagami charged at her.

Kagami collided with her, both grunting heavily as they stumbled back into another alley.

They both panted heavily, rising up to their hands and knees. "Bloody hell..." Kagami quietly mumbled, shaking her head with a groan as the dark green changed back to the pale color it was before. She then grunted, a hand grabbing her neck and shoving her up against a wall.

Gritting her teeth, Jade growled softly with tea green eyes once again.

Shutting one eye, the young Huntress in training shut one eye. Growling back, she kicked her feet up, wrapping it around Jade's neck. Suddenly, the young woman landed on her back with a heavy grunt.

Both jade haired girls slowly stood up, shoulders rising and falling. Jade though, she seemed to be smiling. "You're... rather good at this..."

"You're planning to attack a city that has already lost so much..." She slowly raised her fist. "Of course I'm going to fight as hard as I can with you..."

"Hmmm..." She narrowed her eyes some. Both of them knew that neither had the strength to copy the other at the moment. With the chain reaction of infinitely increasing power, it was a miracle either had the strength to fight. She held out her hands, slamming her right hand in a fist into a flat hand palm of her right hand. A small glow coming from her.

Kagami gritted her teeth, shifting slightly. She then blinked, a red dot appearing on her chest. "What...?"

"D-Dad! No!" Jade snapped, the glow vanishing.

The red dot quickly vanished before a man cloaked in a dark green hood jumped down. Crossing his arms under his cloak. Shinrin raised an eyebrow at his daughter. "Why? She was clearly getting the upper hand on you."

"She wasn't. And I have a proposition she can't refuse." She smiled.

Taking a step back, Kagami narrowed her eyes. "And what is that?"

"You're leader, right?" Jade smirked, looking at her father. "Whatever you say goes, correct?"

"Yes..." He half groaned.

"Well," She crossed her own arms, her breathing slowly becoming normal once looked at Kagami, smiling. "I haven't had a fight like that in years. So..." She took a step forward. "Three days from now. Meet me at the docks. If you win, how about I leave you to your good little deeds, and if I win, well we let me have fun."

Blinking slowly, Kagami grinded her teeth. "Give me one good reason why I should believe a whole group of bandits would just leave a city like this alone?"

"Because, you said it yourself. I am a bandit." She held out her arms. "I'm not some low life criminal. I do have some honor."

"Jade, I cann't exactly-" Shinrin started before he was cut off.

"Dad!" Jade snapped, glaring at him. "If I lose, we leave. Got it? But if I win, we get to attack." She smiled. "And how many times have I lost?"

"Zero... but-" He was cut off again. This time, he sighed.

"It's final. There are plenty other small villiages we can find." She smiled, looking back at Kagami. "It will be like that worthless tournament that no one got to see the champion this time." She smirked, tipping her head. "I hope you're ready, you good little Monomane."

Kagami watched with wide eyes, still breathing slightly heavy as the two apperently blood relitives of her's ran off. She slowly dropped to her knees, holding herself up with her hands. She only glanced up when she heard footsteps.

"For the love of Oum..." Elise gulped, Cheyenne and Kris behind her. She held out a hand, helping her leader to her feet. "It's like you're in a cartoon! Or an anime! Expecially with that kind of fighting and the whole three days before and end of the universe battle! Dude! That's so cool! I'm honestly jealous!"

Kagami raised an eyebrow, chuckling softly as she shook her head. "I..." Her smiled slowly became uneasy. "I'm not jealous, I'm extremely tired..."


	49. Finding Hope

Inside the room which Captain Caesar allowed team MACE to rest, all four girls of said team were in a mess and a distraught state. Each of their voices echoing through every corner of the room and back at them in the middle.

"We need to tell someone! Captain Caesar! The Vale army! Anyone!" Cheyenne shouted, tossing her arms down. "This is serious guys! There is a whole group of bandits out there ready to swarm in on Vale at any moment!" She looked between her friends, eyes wide.

"BUT Kagami made a deal with that woman." Elise pointed out, holding up a finger with a smile. "And she could totally kick that woman's butt."

"And if she can't?" Kris looked over at her, sitting on the edge of a bed. "What if she loses and they storm the place? Huh?" She held out her arms. "Then what? No one would know! And if we told someone then think of the lives we would save!"

"Well how do you know that if we went and told someone the BBB wouldn't just come charging in anyway?" The brunet glared over. "We have a better chance at putting our faith in Kagami and having her win!"

"But what if she doesn't win!?" The deer Faunus snapped. "Wat if she loses and more loves are lost!? How do we even know she has the strength to win!?"

"Because I know she does!" Elise shot back.

Kris rolled her eyes, standing up. "But what IF Kagami doesn't have the strength to beat her?"

"You know," The jade haired girl finally spoke up. At the moment, she was slump in a chair. "Kagami has a voice of her own and can speak for herself."

The three other girls all stopped talking and turned to face her. They each blinked before Elise gave a sigh and stood up straight. "Well, fine. What do you think?"

"Honestly..." Kagami took a deep breath, lowering her head some. "I'd think I'd lose to her..."

Elise blinked once before she immediately facepalmed with a scream.

"But..." She looked back up at her teammates. "If this group of bandits are as bad as you say, then telling the authorities and having them start preparations would only cause them to be on alert and have them attack sooner."

At that, both Cheyenne and Kris groaned, the Faunus reaching up and rubbing her face as the red head spoke. "So, what do you think we should do?"

Kagami gave a small sigh, shaking her head. "I really don't know... I am pretty sure if that man didn't show up and almost kill me, she would have gotten me with whatever her semblance was. I don't know what it was, but it was definitely powerful." She looked up.

"So, you just have to copy it." Cheyenne added. "Isn't it that simple?"

"It would be but..." She trailed off again before holding up her hands. "Okay, look. You have two mirrors." She held her hands across from each other. "Mirror one." She shook her right hand. "And mirror two." She shook her left. "Now picture them facing each other." She turned her palms to face each other. "Like this, if you were to cut a hole in one of the mirrors and look through them and towards the other, you would get an image of a mirror reflecting itself infinitely. That's... kinda what kept happening when we locked eyes with each other." She gave another sigh, lowering her arms. "We got stronger and stronger, but after a few minutes, heavy exhaustion would sink in equal to that amount of strength. Like Yin and Yang. So, if I were to copy her semblance, which I would have to figure out first before I could even use, she could just reflect it back like a mirror and double charge the strength of hers. Got it?"

"No..." Kris shook her head slowly before she was pushed out of the picture by Elise.

Cheyenne blinked al few times, slowly nodding. "I see... if only you had your semblance figured out."

"Actually," Elise glanced over with a faint chuckle before she looked at Kagami. "Go ahead and show them."

"Show us what?" Kris popped her head over, blinking a bit.

"Her semblance, idiot!" The brunet snapped. "We've been practicing every night!"

"Oh." The red head blinked a bit before sighing. "Daaarn iiittt... I was hoping you guys were secretly having se-"

"Christmas!" Cheyenne warned to which the young girl quickly hushed up.

Elise blinked once, slowly reaching up and grabbing the bridge of her nose. "Oh, for the love of Oum... just... show them." She waved towards Kagami.

Kagami gave a sigh, standing up. She rolled up the sleeve on her left arm so it showed her shoulder. She took a deep breath, holding out her arms as she shut her eyes. A second later, her eyes shot open. The light green fabric wrapped around her forearm burst, falling to the floor in small pieces. As it did so, a bright green pattern slowly drew itself from the back of her hand and down her forearm while going up to her shoulder where it trailed off.

Breathing softly, the jade haired girl lowered her arms, moving her left around a bit. "Neither of us know exactly what it does..." Kagami trailed off as the glow faded and her skin returned to normal. "And it never last for very long..." She looked up at her friends with a faint smile. "But it seems pretty cool so it must do something awesome."

"..." Kris blinked several times, her hand raised before it slowly lowered. "...?"

"Okay, I'm pretty sure dot dot dot dot dot dot dot dot dot dot dot and dot dot dot question mark aren't real responses..." Elise quietly mumbled.

"It's... a pretty accurate feeling and response sometimes..." Cheyenne blinked several times, her own eyes wide. "Especially for something like that."

The brunet just sighed, looking back over at Kagami. "So, what do you think we should do? Maybe in the next three days we can figure out what that is and you can go win."

"I don't know." Kagami shook her head some. "I mean... even if I do win, I can tell that she was speaking the truth about leaving Vale alone... but I don't know about that man. Even if she talked him into it."

"Well, we'll just need a backup plan." Elise smiled.

"Yeah," Cheyenne shook her head some before holding up her hand. "What if we still do this whole fight thing, but still inform someone who can keep their mouth shut just in case she loses or if they don't hold up to their bargain."

"I guess that could work..." Kagami nodded slowly, scratching the back of her head. "But who?"

Elise and Cheyenne both glanced at each other, smiling before they looked over at a still dazed Kris. "Jess." They both said without a hint of stutter.

That night, after a very long and tiring conversation between team MACE and Jess, the group of girls were all resting in bed. Now, normally a conversation as crucial as this would be repeated, but with the vile and vulgar words spoken from the older red head, it best be left alone and in the past. Besides, all that mattered was the fact the four got Jess to agree to be quiet unless it was clear something horrible was about to happen. If she didn't hear word of victory or saw suspicious activity after the battle, Jess knew what to do.

The following day, the group of young girls trained their hearts out. Whether Kagami wanted to admit it or not, and even if her friends didn't want to admit it, they all knew Kagami still had a long way to go.

So, when the leader of team MACE started to get tired along with one of her teammates, another teammate would switch out with the other as they began again. It wasn't solely for Kagami though, Cheyenne, Kris, and Elise too became better than what they were the day before. Who wouldn't after a day under Captain Caesar's training and then endless sparring? These four girls were still growing, in more ways than one and we're definitely going to continue doing so.

That night, as Kagami completely crashed and fell asleep on her bed without so much as a word, Elise gave a small sigh, sitting down in the chair as she leaned back. "I... now I've been way more tired before but I'm honestly so tiiired right now..."

"Oh, same..." Kris muttered, tossing off her hat as she flopped down onto her bed with a soft grunt. With her face shoved into her pillow, she let out a muffled mumbled, one which no one could understand but no one felt like asking what she had to say.

Cheyenne sighed, sitting at the edge of her bed as she took her shoes off. "At least that's over with..." She took off her boots, glancing up at Kagami, who was already snoring, before she looked back at Elise. "Do you really think she has what it takes to win over that woman though?"

"I don't know..." The brunet sighed, shaking her head as she kicked off her boots. "I hope she does and I believe she has what it takes... but I don't know if she will. We are all still children here... but..." She looked up at Kagami's bed, chuckling softly as she saw her sleeping friend with her shoes still on. "She's not like any of us. That's for sure. She's stronger than all of us even though she won't admit it. And smarter too. But she doesn't go flashing it around like other people do. She doesn't flaunt her skills around." She softly chuckled, leaning her head back. "She's like a quiet samurai from all those legends... or maybe a warrior princess?"

Cheyenne couldn't help but laugh softly, putting her hand over her mouth. "Kagami? A princess? Those words go together like oil and water."

"Hey," Elise shrugged. "You can freeze a bottle of oil and water and it still becomes a solid object."

The Faunus blinked a few times. "Wh-What..." She shook her head. "That doesn't even make any sense! That's like saying since ice floats on water, rocks should float in lava!"

"Wait..." She blinked, tilting her head. "Rocks float in lava?"

She blinked a few times, facepalming as hard as she could. "Oum save us..." She laid back, letting her head and antlers hit the pillow softly.

The next day, after sleeping nearly half of it away and waking up past noon, Kagami slowly stepped through the Emerald Forest as she heard Grimm growling in the distance. "Okay, guys," She took a deep breath. For once, the sword her mother had given her wasn't strapped to her back. "This seems like a completely awful idea."

"Come on! You'll be fine!" Elise called from the treetops, currently not visible. "Trust us! We got your back just in case things go south!"

The jade haired girl took a deep breath, slowly nodding. "Right... okay." She started stepping forward some more before she stopped. Slowly, stumbling out from the trees and bushes came an Ursa. It wasn't an Alpha and definitely wasn't that big, but to someone unarmed it definitely meant trouble.

"Alright..." Kagami slid her right foot back, lowering her center of gravity as she held up her arms. She tightened her hands into fist, eyes narrowing at the beast before her. "Let's get this over with."

The Ursa took a step forward, sniffing the air. Its chest then puffed out as it stood up on its back legs, letting out a roar as it charged forward, straight towards Kagami.

She gritted her teeth, running at it and sliding underneath its feet before she jumped back up. "I really don't like this idea!"

"Calm down!" Kris shouted from above. "You have two snipers and me watching out for you!"

"That calms my nerves so much..." She rolled her eyes, ducking down under the paw from the Grimm. She then sidestepped, missing a lunge from the Ursa. She took a deep breath, bolting towards a tree. She jumped up onto it, her feet bracing against the trunk.

Just as the creature charged at her again, Kagami pushed herself off the tree. She gritted her teeth, her back barely missing the claws of the monster. Rather than flying all the way across to land on the ground, she grabbed ahold of the Grimm with her right hand. She swung around, her feet slamming into its back.

"Now or never!" She shouted, giving off a battle cry. Her left arm began to glow, the fabric blowing off as the bright green markings reappeared. She pressed the palm of her hand onto the Ursa's back, the beast jerking.

Kagami jumped off it, panting softly as the glow faded away. The monster of darkness stumbled around a bit before it crouched down, hands over it face as it snarled. For a moment, it was stunned.

Kagami's sword suddenly stabbed the ground in front of her. She stepped towards it, pulling it out. She gave it a twirl, smiling. "Okay, even I say that's cool." She raised her weapon, the blade shining in the light above the Ursa's head. Just as the beast started to move again, the sword crashed down across its neck.

"Huh." Elise jumped down from the trees. "So... it seems to stun Grimm... but doesn't have an effect on humans."

"Maybe it's only a Grimm harming semblance?" Kris asked, landing next to Kagami.

"Or perhaps it interferes with darkened things?" Cheyenne added, coming down next to Elise.

"Kinda like... a purity blast?" Elise raised an eyebrow.

"I think so." Kagami sheathed her blade just as the Grimm began to fade away. She turned around with a smile. "It's kinda cool though." She smiled a little more, glancing back at the Grimm. "That thing was on its knees without so much as a weapon harming it."

"It would make sense on how Val was able to break free from Valentine's hold on her." The deer Faunus glanced at her. "You must have messed with the darkness inside of her and caused a shift in power."

"Maybe it's more than darkness." The Kris raised an eyebrow. "What if it is more like purity? You know how some people can create illusions? What if she could break through that and find the truth behind it all? Like something that seeks and finds what is right, morally and fact wise to the person, and gets rid of or stuns the other parts of it? It would be cooler if it was your right hand though..." She sighed. "You could have been named the Right Hand of Rightness!"

Cheyenne blinked a few times before facepalming. Elise shook her head some with a sigh as she crossed her arms. "You were on such a roll shorty, and then you had to ruin it with Right Hand of Rightness."

"Shut up you jerk!" Kris snapped, waving her arms around rapidly. Kagami simply smiled, glancing down at her left hand. No matter what anyone said, what she had just done was really amazing to her.

When the next day came around, Kagami's heart was racing a million miles an hour. She didn't want to worry her friends by saying she was scared, but deep down she was terrified. She took a deep breath, picking at the fingerless tactical gloves she had on. Pressure or no pressure, she knew she was up against an opponent she wouldn't win against easily.

The jade haired girl glanced up, her teammates leaning on the side of a building at the edge of the city. There, she saw the father and daughter Monomanes who used their gift for not so good deeds.

"This is utter stupidity." Shinrin half scolded his daughter, his arms and body hidden under his thick green cloak. He turned his head to face her, his long ponytail swaying slightly. "We could have been in and out of this place right now. Why do you even have to fight her?"

"It's hard to explain." Jade said, glancing up at her father before looking forward with crossed arms. "I've fought tons of people but she... one of our cousins would definitely put forth a challenge."

"Then why not just spar with me?" He sighed.

"Simple." She held out her hand for him to stop walking as she stepped onward. "We spar. If I fought with her, when we both have something great to lose," She glanced back with a grin. "Then you just have a better reason for fighting and a far better drive."

Shinrin sighed, reaching up and grabbing the bridge of his nose. "Just like your mother..." He shook his head while whispering to himself.

Kagami gulped some, slowly stepping up towards Jade. It was just a small fight, but it was giving her more anxiety than she had ever had in her life. She took a deep breath, shutting her eyes for a moment. Her mind going back to the night before.

Last night, while most people were asleep, Kagami slowly opened the door the room Captain Caesar had for them. She inhaled softly, stepping inside the room with a steaming cup of green tea.

"Can't sleep, huh?" Elise mumbled softly, her hands behind her back.

Kagami blinked a little, glancing over at her awake and standing teammate. "Yeah... I mean, could you?"

"Probably not... but, since you're always helping us out." She smiled innocently.

The jade haired girl sighed, taking a sip of her tea as she sat down on the floor. "What have you done?"

"Weeeeell..." The brunet smiled, quickly holding out Kagami's book filled with poems. "I wrote a poem!" She smiled some more.

Kagami blinked a few times as Elise awkwardly chuckled. Finally, she sighed and took another sip of her tea. "Okay..." She raised a hand. "Do we not remember the whole 'I read your poems and our whole team split up and got beaten to a pulp and the entire city was attacked and Beacon fell' adventure?" She cracked a small smile.

Elise rolled her eyes, crossing her arms. "Okay, to be fair, pretty sure ALL of that wasn't solely because I read your poems."

"Or maybe it is." She chuckled some.

"Whatever..." She groaned, sitting down in front of her leader with a smile. "Now, you're always making us feel better with poems, so now I made one for you." She chuckled a bit. "It's clearly not as good as yours... but I hope it helps some. It's clear you're not completely confident you'll win so... you know... I'm here to find that hope buried deep inside you." She smiled some more before she began to read.

 _When things in life give you a rough time_

 _And I need a rhyming line_

 _When you know that it may not be alright_

 _You know you have to fight_

 _Your victory is in your sight_

 _If you don't want to win, you might as well try_

 _There are some moments you just can't deny_

 _End the end it doesn't matter_

 _As long as evil is left in tatters_

 _You have to fall to lose it all_

 _You can't take it back, gotta make a tough call_

 _Don't lie baby, don't cry_

 _Spread your wings and you can fly_

 _Feel your way through the darkness_

 _Wicked, cold, and heartless_

 _And when everything is falling apart_

 _We can go to the shopping mart_

 _Find the light inside_

 _Our faith in others becomes our lifeline_

Kagami blinked a few times, nearly spitting out her tea. She choked just a bit, shaking her head as she coughed. "That… that was…" She couldn't help but laugh a little with her hand covering her mouth.

"Huh?" Elise raised an eyebrow, tilting her head. "What?"

She simply shook her head, chuckling softly as she reached a hand out and placed it on Elise's shoulder. "Keep trying, alright? I'm sure you'll get better. Trust me, it was sweet and nice but… it was pretty bad." She laughed a bit more.

Elise's face shot a deep shade of red as her chest puffed out. She slammed Kagami's book shut and threw it at her friend. "You're such a jerk! I spent like two hours on that!"

Kagami blinked a few times, raising an eyebrow at the page which Elise had written on in her book. "You would think if you spent two hours on this your handwriting would look a lot nicer." She chuckled.

The brunet gave off a small scream, her face still red as she turned on her heels and hauled herself up into her bed. She paused though, glancing back at her still grinning leader. "But… anyway… good luck." She smiled with a small nod. "And just have hope that you'll win."

"Definitely." Kagami gave a nod with a soft smile before she flashed another grin. "And you keep practicing your writing skills so you can be like that Roy G. Biv guy you like."

Elise's face shot a deep shade of red again as she reached over, tossing her pillow at her head. "SHUT UP!"

In the present, Kagami gently smiled to herself as she stopped several meters in front of Jade. The young woman ceasing her walk as well.

"So, you ready?" Jade calmly asked, an eager smile pecking at her lips.

Kagami gulped some, smiling softly at a line from Elise's poem. _If you don't win, you might as well try._ She gave off a small laugh, her out of control heartbeat starting to slow down. "As ready as I'll ever be." She glanced up, reaching for her sword. All fell silent, the wind gently blowing between the two.

Kagami simply flashed a grin, letting her blade click softly as she unsheathed it.


	50. Asymmetrical Fractals

Steel clashed with steel as golden sparks danced across the sharpened edges of metal. Underneath the never ending rays of the sun which relentlessly beat down across the sandy ruins of Vacuo, a young hellion with a knack for anything with a blade and handle held her arms up high, a pair of blades tonfas strapped to her forearms as she held the handles tight in her grip. She then grunted, the palm of a hand colliding with her forehead and sending her back, stumbling until she fell and hit the hard rocky ground below.

"Come on now, you're getting faster, Jade." A woman with slightly tanned skin and long black hair tied back into a ponytail stated, long bangs covering her eyebrows. She too had on a pair of bladed tonfas.

"Yeah, I know..." The young girl sat up, shaking her messy green hair. She took a deep breath, slowly sliding over her weapons before reaching up and rubbing her eyes. "It's just not fair. You're so much stronger than me."

"Yeah? So what?" The woman knelt down, removing her tonfas from her arms and gently placing them down. "Most men are stronger than me. Does that mean you won't fight men?"

"No but..." Jade trailed off, groaning as she crossed her arms. "It's just not fair."

Flashing a faint smile, she knelt down across from her and gave a slow nod. "Okay. It isn't fair. So you make it fair. You clearly aren't stronger, so you need to become faster. Tire out whoever you are fighting, don't try to match their strength. Cut them down piece by piece, not in one quick slash."

"Or you know," A younger looking Shinrin walked past, his green cloak wrapped around his body as his near meter long braided hair swayed back and forth. "She could always learn to shoot a gun. It's way faster and far less messy."

Rolling her eyes, the woman shooed him away with a swipe of her hand. "Ignore him." She smiled. "It may be easy to pull a trigger and win, but there's not much skill there. Now to master a blade, well," She pulled out a kunai, twirling it in her left hand. "It takes a lot of practice."

"You don't pull a trigger!" Shinrin shouted as he walked away. "You squeeze a trigger gently, Olive!"

"Yeah, yeah." She rolled her eyes, picking up her tonfas as she stood. "You want to practice a little more, Jade?"

"Yeah..." The young girl glanced up, pushing her green hair behind her ear as she stood. She reached down, picking up her smaller pair of tonfas with a deep breath. She took a deep breath, putting them back on with a determined look in her eyes. A moment later, metal began clashing with metal once again.

Sparks flew, bladed edges scratching against one another as Jade redirected the swing of Kagami's sword with a blade coming from her wrist guard. She gave a soft grunt, shoving her away as she took several quick steps back.

"You know, you're not that bad." She flashed a smile, flicking her other wrist as another hidden blade came from her wrist.

Kagami gritted her teeth, letting her feet slide across the ground. She took a deep breath, twirling her blade around in her right hand before she gripped it tight. She slid a single foot back, raising her blade up as she grabbed hold of the hilt with her other hand. "Thanks... I guess."

A soft wind blew through, rustling the branches and leaves in the trees as birds quietly chirped before one flew off, the rest of the flock following behind. The group of birds slowly flew up into the sky, following the sun into the outstretched horizon.

Clouds blew overhead, blocking the sun's rays for a moment as a shadow casted down upon Jade and Kagami. While Kagami's hair swayed back and forth with fluid like motions, Jades short hair waved back and forth with small and choppy movements. The two stared down at each other, their feet sliding across the dirt road underneath. Their breathing was soft, hushed, and near silent as their chest rose and fell calmly.

Still sitting in the middle of the road, several meters down from where the two jade haired girls stood, Shinrin had his eyes shut calmly. With his green cloak wrapped around his, hiding everything from his neck down, he didn't even seem to bat an eye at his daughter. His shoulders were square though and a clear look of irritation was etched in his face if anything at all.

On the other side of the two jadettes, just about as far as Shinrin was away, maybe even a little farther, the rest of team MACE watched. While Elise and Cheyenne stood and leaned up next to separate trees with weapons ready to fire incase of any funny business, Kris sat on the floor, jaw tight and eyes narrowed at the two before her. The redhead inhaled deeply, slowly pulling her red fedora over her eyes as they drifted towards the man cloaked in green. She couldn't lie to herself, there was definitely something up with him.

Taking a deep breath, Kagami slowed her breathing, locking eyes with the woman in front before shutting her eyes. Jade did exactly the same. The wind died down, everything going completely still for a single moment.

Kagami's eyes shot opened, the tea green color of them slightly tinted darker as she bolted forward towards her opponent. She brought her sword down at her side, giving off a war cry as she swung it around with all the strength she had.

Jade flashed a smile, calmly making an x shape with her wrist blades. She let them catch the sword, but rather than holding it up and pushing back, she used the force of Kagami's blow against her, redirecting the swing to her side. "Heh." She flicked her right foot, a small but sharp blade coming from the toe. She set her foot upward, aiming for Kagami's neck.

The younger girl's eyes went wide as she jerked her head back, the glimmer of the blade just centimeters from her face. She gulped, quickly stepping back before jumping away.

Smiling, she sprinted forward, letting the blades in her wrist guards vanish as she kicked out another blade from her left foot. "What? Too close for comfort?" She brought her foot up and around in a roundhouse kick.

Raising her sword, she brought it up towards her face, blocking Jade's shoe with a soft grunt. She pushed back, shoving her off her.

When Kagami did so, the older jade haired woman brought her other foot up, pressing it against the flat edge of the blade. While she was pushed back, she launched herself off the weapon, back flipping and landing on the ground with a soft grunt. She kicked her heels together, the blades from her shoes going back inside.

Kagami lunged forward, sword raised above her head. With teeth showing, she locked eyes with her opponent again. As each of them blinked, their eyes got a shade darker.

Watching the sword coming down at her, Jade reached into her waistband, pulling out a large butterfly knife. She flipped it around a few times before catching the handle and holding it tight. She held it up, blocking the larger blade almost easily. She grinned, looking back at the younger girl. "I hope you're better than this."

Grinding her teeth together, she shoved her away and jumped back, the tip of her sword sliding across the ground. For once, the young Huntress in training didn't have a smart response back. She took a deep breath, her hand clutching the handle of her sword as tight as she could, her knuckles turning white. Her mind was too concerned with winning to think of anything else. If she lost, these people would rampage this already broken city.

"What? You don't have anything to say?" Jade flashed a smile, sliding the butterfly knife away before pulling out two large kunai. Holding one in each hand, she ran forward with incredible speed.

Kagami inhaled sharply, changing the grip on her sword to a reverse grip. She brought her right hand up, blocking one of the Japanese daggers. The other lashed downward, nearly slicing away at the flesh on her cheek.

With her distracted, the older jade haired girl took her chances. She brought her leg around, swiping at Kagami's feet. Once her back struck the ground, Jade placed her hands on the floor, spinning around as her left foot struck Kagami's right wrist and her right foot struck the weapon in her hand.

The younger girl silently cursed to herself the second she felt her weapon being forced out of her hand. Now disarmed and laying flat on her back, Kagami gritted her teeth and crossed her arms over her chest. She rolled to the right, a throwing knife landing where her head once was. She then quickly rolled the the left, the other Japanese dagger lodging itself into the ground next I her head. She quickly brace her palms against the ground, her feet sliding up just a bit. She kicked herself up, back flipping away just as Jade's foot slid across the ground where she once was and kicked up dust.

Jade hissed softly, spinning around before reaching down and picking up her kunai, spinning them a bit before placing them away. She reached down to left leg, rolling up her pants just a bit to show a sheathed weapon attached to her leg. She grabbed the handles, pulling out a set of sharpened twin butterfly swords. She quickly slid her pants leg back down, tossing one of the short blades into her other hand. She quickly charged forward, clutching the weapons tight.

Still without her weapon, Kagami glanced up, her eyes scanning the area for her sword. Spotting it to her left, she stood up straight. She would have made a break for it, but seeing the sunlight reflect against cold steel, she jumped back, the tip of Jade's butterfly swords grazing across her ear as slightly cutting away a few strands of her hair. She grimaced, reaching up and rubbing her ear a bit. Her eyes narrowed as she bit the inside of her cheek.

Jade flashed a smile, staring back at the young girl. Blinking, her eyes darkened yet another shade as did her adversary's. She twirled the two short dao's, sprinting forward again.

"Bloody hell…" Kagami muttered, taking a step back. She held up her hands, glancing down at the back rings on her fingers. She took a deep breath, shaking her head before she turned her hands into fist. It wouldn't be worth it. She raised up her hands, colliding the metal knuckles of her fingerless gloves with the blades. As long as she didn't mess up, everything should be fine.

The older jade haired woman slashed from each direction, her single edge blades slicing through the air with swift motions.

Kagami grunted each time, her forearm muscles straining as she blocked each blow with the knuckles of her gloves. She gritted her teeth, waiting till both of the butterfly swords came downward at the same times. She tightened her fist, bracing her feet as she stopped the weapons once again. She took a deep breath, quickly moving her hands under the blades and gripping Jade's wrist.

"Huh?" Jade blinked, about to jerk her hands away but too late.

Kagami slid downward, going between her opponent's legs while still holding onto her wrist. She jerked her down by the arms, sending her off her feet before ramming her combat boots into her stomach and sending her flying.

Falling through the air, the older jadette quickly put away her short swords, landing on her hands and knees with a soft grunt. When she looked up, she gritted her teeth, seeing her combatant heading straight towards her, once again with her sword in hand. "Damn it..." She gritted her teeth, pushing herself up to stand.

The young Huntress in training gave off a small war cry, her feet quickly tapping across the dirt road. Just before Jade could rise to her feet, Kagami was already next to her, ready to swing her sword.

A second before Kagami had the chance though, her eyes caught sight of a small red dot on her shoulder. Her eyes widened as she quickly side stepped, sliding across the ground next to Jade. She brought up her sword, blocking a bullet from striking her.

Jade blinked once, growling softly as her hands balled up into fist. "Daaad!" She snapped, glaring over at said man.

Kris was already on her feet, eyes wide. Elise and Cheyenne already had taken aim, fingers resting at their triggers. "Kagami...?" The young redhead spoke up.

"I'm fine." Her leader glanced back at her with a deep breath. "It's alright, I'm fine." She gave a reassuring nod, her eyes reverting to normal. Her eyes then trailed from her two other friends' lines of sight, glaring over at Shinrin.

Said man was standing, his hair and cloak swaying ever so slightly. With his arm raised out of his cloak, revealing what her looked like underneath. And boy was it a sight to be seen.

He was large, probably larger than the average man. Plus, he was shirtless. His muscles stretching out all across his torso and arms. He had on a pair of dark green pants as well as a pair of black boots that had been scuffed up over the years. Unlike most Monomanes, his skin was a tad bit darker and covered in scars from battles or even simple bar fights. Across his left shoulder was three Bs that were tattooed in a bloody red color. He had two bandoliers over each of his shoulders, each packed full of different size bullets. He had two more around his waist, these with a couple pouches. On both of his thighs he had two pistol holsters and on his back a long rifle. Though one of his pistols were still strapped to his leg, the other was in his hand.

A casing shell popped out of it as he lowered his arm down, letting his cloak wrap back around himself. "What?" He asked calmly, though it was clear he was aggravated.

Jade growled softly, blinking as her eyes went back to normal. "I told you not to interrupt!"

"She was about to kill you." He responded, sitting back down as he shut his eyes. "What else was I supposed to do?"

Growling more, she took a step towards him. "Back off! That's what you do! This is my fight, not yours!"

Kagami blinked a few times, taking a deep breath as she waved her hand back at her friends. "It's okay... calm down guys." Cheyenne and Elise both glanced at each other, lowering their weapons hesitantly. Elise took a deep breath, narrowing her eyes over in Shinrin's direction. She was currently yelling at herself inside her head for letting herself be distracted by Kagami's fight and not watching the man she was suppose to keep an eye on.

"She was about to harm you." He took a deep breath, opening one eye to stare up at her.

All she did was growl, whipping her head around and looking away. "Well stop it. I want to beat her fair and square." She paused and narrowed her eyes back at him. "Or lose."

He snarled quietly, taking another deep breath before shutting his eyes again with a grumble.

"Sorry about that." Jade muttered, turning around to face Kagami as she raised her hands. "Now let's get back down to this." She grinned.

Kagami took a deep breath, nodding. "Right." She twirled her sword in her right hand, lifting it up in front of her face.

Bolting forward, Jade sent out a swarm of kicks to which Kagami deflected with her blade with some trouble on keeping up with her speed. But that wasn't the older jadette's end game. Now closer, she sent out a kick while reaching behind her back and under her shirt, pulling out a karambit.

Kagami grunted softly, shoving her foot away. She watched as the older woman spun around, her eyes widening at the curved black blade that came from Jade's hand. She took a step back, her teeth clenching as she felt the sharpened edge slide through her skin and pale green fabric wrapped around her left arm. She stumbled back a little, raising her sword up only to fail at blocking the smaller blade from slicing into her right shoulder.

"What? Can't move fast enough with that big sword of yours?" Jade called out, slashing away as quick as she could. And to be fair to all, that was rather fast.

The younger jadette grunted, her body being pushed back as a small drop of her blood dripped. She hissed, taking a deep breath.

Grinning, she twirled the karambit around in her finger, holding it in a hammer style grip. She sent her fist forward, ramming it into the side of Kagami's face. The blade itself was now curled up under her chin, the tip just waiting to pierce flesh.

Kagami froze for a moment, her breath hitching as her jaw clenched. She inhaled sharply, spinning her sword in her right hand. The blade locked with the small curved one, knocking it out of the older woman's grip. She exhaled heavily, taking several quick steps away as she gulped.

Jade smirked, jumping back. She slid across the dirt road, snatching up her small weapon and tucking it away before standing. "You know, this has been fun and all, but it's time we end this." She reached down to her left hip, pulling out a her large Bowie knife. Holding the blade in her right hand on a reverse grip, she began to circle around the younger girl with a smile. "I hope you're ready for this." She smiled even more, planting her feet down into the ground. She raised her left hand, keeping it flat. She then slammed her right hand into it, grinning as her hands began to glow.

"Crap..." Kagami trailed off, gritting her teeth as she took a step back and raised her blade.

Chuckling softly with a grin, Jade couldn't help but tilt her head to the side. Suddenly, behind Kagami was a mirror image of Jade. "Hello?" They both said at the same time with the same exact movements. Another popped up on Kagami's left and then her right. Four more appeared in between those.

"Oh for the love of Oum..." Kagami slowly looked around, her eyes wide and mouth hanging slightly open.

"What?" Each of the eight figures of Jade spoke, chuckling. "Is there a problem?" They each twirled their Bowie knife before jabbing the tip into the dirt road. They began to run in a circle, kicking up dust to lower Kagami's visibility.

"Oh bloody hell...!" The young Huntress in training shouted, eyes wide as each of the eight jumped up, blades above there head and ready to strike. Each came down at the exact same time, same movements and breathing patterns. There was no possible way to see which one was the true Jade.

Kagami gritted her teeth, her body tensing and preparing for the worst. She bit her lip, shutting her eyes for a second. It then hit her. Not pain, but the only idea and only option she could think of at the moment.

She jabbed her sword into the ground, kneeling down on one knee next to it. "Now or never..." She muttered, taking off the glove on her left hand and placing the palm of her hand onto the ground. She inhaled as deep as she could, giving off a small and last cry of hope. Her left arm began to glow, the fabric wrapped around her forearm bursting apart and into pieces, falling slowly into the ground. The same happening to her sleeve. As the markings on her arm began to show, she gave off another cry, a bright light flashing all around.

Each of the Jades gained a confused expression, tilting their heads to the left as their eyebrows rose. "What...?" Each mumbled.

As the green markings on Kagami's arm faded, she snatched up her sword, standing up with quick feet to see what came next.

One by one, each illusion and copied version of Jade shattered like glass, falling to the ground and disappearing. Kagami counted each one, starting from behind her and to the left and going around until the one behind her and two her right shattered.

The young jadette quickly whipped her head around, eyes locking onto Jade.

The older woman's eyes were wide and filled with bewilderment. She blinked once, her teeth flashing as she grinded them together. "Oh shit-!"

She was cut off, Kagami stabbing the ground with her sword and using it to send her body upward. She kicked her in the chest as hard as she could, sending her flying.

Jade tumbled across the ground, stopping herself from rolling just as the dust began to clear. As she went to get up, she felt the tip of a blade press against her neck.

Breathing heavily, Kagami stood above her, pointing her sword down at her. "I believe... that's match." She took a deep breath.

Looking up at her, Jade almost seemEd confused, up until the point she shut her eyes and smirked. She let go of her Bowie knife, holding up her hands. "It seems so."

For a moment, the young girl paused, but after a couple seconds she pulled her sword back. She twirled it, sheathing it and putting it away. Slowly, she reached her hand out towards Jade.

"You really want to do that?" The older woman asked with a raised eyebrow.

Kagami gave a slow nod, her panting slowing down some. "I do. Like you said, you're a bandit, not a criminal. You have honor. And there's no honor in accepting defeat poorly."

Jade smiled a little more, reaching up and grabbing her hand with a firm grip.

A while later, as Jade and Shinrin made their way back to the base camp for the Bad Blood Brothers, Shinrin slowly glanced over at his daughter with raised eyebrows. "Are you happy now, Jade?"

Nodding slowly, she cleaned off her karambit. "Yeah, in a way. I'm disappointed I lost but..." She smiled. "It was fun. A lot more fun than fighting any other soldier or Huntsman." She tossed away a white rag stained in red, putting her weapon away.

He gave slow nod back, looking forward at his group of bandits. The bandits he promised he would take care of. He gritted his teeth, not letting her see. "That's good." He nodded again, hands balling into tight fist underneath his cloak. "As long as you're happy, so am I."


	51. Family

"Ow... ow! Ow, ow, ow! Okay! Stop!" Kagami flinched, gently shoving away Elise's hand. "That hurts!"

The brunette sighed, slowly taking back her hand which held a damp washcloth. "Listen, we at least need to clean it off so it doesn't get infected."

Groaning, she glanced down, glaring at the deep gash in her upper arm. "I know... I know." She groaned a bit more, grumbling as she crossed her arms. "You know if I had my hoodie I wouldn't have gotten so many cuts on my chest and arms."

Elise awkwardly chuckled, rubbing the back of her head. "Come on. This hoodie is really amazing. I always feel at the perfect temperature with it!" She hugged herself, swinging around a bit.

"That why I like it..." The jade haired girl narrowed her eyes, glaring back at her friend.

She simply chuckled weakly back at her team leader, holding up the damp cloth. "On to more important matters though," She flashed a smile, hoping to change the subject. "We do need to clean that wound out."

"I agree." Cheyenne spoke up softly, leaning over a desk which had several stones with small holes in them. In her hands was a string, a few rocks already laced onto them. "You should at least clean it out and wrap bandages around it. If it gets infected then you'll get sick."

"And I'm pretty sure you don't want to get sick." Kris stretched out across her bed, letting her head hang down off the side. "You don't seem like a person who would be happy if you got sick."

"Or a person who would take medicine when they're sick." The deer Faunus spoke up.

"You're... suppose to take medicine when you get sick?" Kagami's eyebrows raised up a bit. "My mom would normally just give me tea and put a bunch of blankets over me. Also a bunch of citrus fruits like limes, lemons, oranges, apples, and so on." She waved her hand a bit before yelling as Elise snatched her wrist and pulled her arm close to her.

"For the love of Oum, you damn idiot." Elise held onto her friend's hand extremely tight, dabbing softly at the cut on her bicep. "I'm cleaning this off before you do get sick. We really don't need you with a fever."

"Aw, can you not function without me as a team?" She joked, chuckling softly.

The brunette groaned, grumbling heavily as she washed away dried blood from Kagami's arm. "Shut up..." She grumbled.

"You know," Kris smiled, kicking her legs up and down. "I still think you two would make the cutest couple ever."

Cheyenne took a deep breath, laying down the bracelet she was making while she lowered her head, pressing her forehead onto the desk top. "Sometimes... I swear I don't know how we deal with you and your immaturity..."

"Whaaat?" The red head rolled her eyes before turning her body over. "I can't be the only one who thinks that. I mean, they would be a great couple. And that Nihilus and Val girl would make a cute little couple too. I also think my sister would be great with Julia." She chuckled softly. "Such a kinky little relationship there-OOF!" She grunted, a pillow hitting her in the face and knocking her off her bed with a thud.

Kagami sighed, lowering her arm down as she shook her head. "I still don't understand this whole shipping thing you guys do."

"Don't worry." Elise smiled with a chuckle. "It's sorta a fangirl and fanboy thing. See, in Rainbow Time Dancers there is this really hot eighth grader and holy moly!" She tossed her head back. "The war between who he should date is never ending. Some people really want Lem," She glared up at Kris.

"And some people really want Rosa." The redhead glared back over, narrowing her eyes.

"But anyway," Elise waved her off. "It's usually the leader who ends up with the guy anyway."

"Not all the time!" Kris quickly shot back in a defensive tone. "Sometimes the side members of the team get to date the hottest guy in the upper class!"

"That never happens in any sort of story." Cheyenne spoke up softly. "Not unless the main character dates them and then they break up and the side character dates them. And then a whole bunch of drama and yelling happens."

"That doesn't matter!" The young red head rapidly flung her arms around. "Lem and Chad were meant to be together!"

"No they weren't!" Elise shot to her feet. "Rosa Buds and Chad Republica were meant to be together! That sweet and shaggy blonde hair... that tight red shirt that shows off his muscles... and those blue skinny jeans..." She took a deep breath, her eyes sparkling like little red heart. "He's so amazing!"

"He is Lem's!" Kris shot to her feet.

"Rosa's!" She took a step towards her.

"Lem!" She snarled.

"Rosa!" She reached up, poking the younger girl with a finger.

Kagami sighed softly, shaking her head just a bit. "And here I thought they had grown up. I guess some things never change." She chuckled softly.

Cheyenne smiled, resting her head on her head as she leaned onto the table. "I think it's kinda nice." She tilted her head slightly at the two girls arguing. "It shows even after everything, we're still the same four girls at the beginning."

"I don't think we're exactly the same." The jade haired girl quietly spoke up. "We've grown in so many ways." She glanced down at the cut on her arm, shaking her head with a chuckle and a half smile. "There's so many ways we have changed."

There was a sudden knock on the door to which each girl flinched and looked up at it. Elise blinked slowly, raising an eyebrow. "Who's... there?" She quietly asked.

"Um..." A male voice came from the other sighed. "It's... Andrew Barq. I um... I'm Christmas-" He stopped himself taking a shaky breath. "Kris'... father..."

The three other girls all slowly turned to the redhead, who herself was blinking rapidly and confused. After a moment, she shook her head and crossed her arms, growling softly. "Don't you have a bar to be drinking out of?" She snapped.

The rest of her team was slightly taken aback, all slowly looking towards the door. On the other side, Andrew took a deep breath, resting his left hand against the door. For once, his brown hair that was so dark that it was nearly black, was combed back and behind his ears, staying there due to the grease in it. His extremely hard beard shaven, only a bit of stubble left behind.

"Listen, I was stoppin' by 'cause I heard Jessica..." He trailed off once more, shaking his head. "Heard Jess was still in town and helping those out from the Attack on Vale... honestly a shame it happened..." He took a deep breath. "But was talkin' to her and learned you were here to chillin' so I decided to drop by and uh... see... tell ya the same I told ya sister..."

"And what if I don't want to hear it? What if I don't want you to be here and would like it if you left?" The young redhead took a step towards the door. "Huh!?"

"I wouldn't blame ya..." He muttered quietly. "I get I ain't the best father ever... and marrying that hag of a mother didn't help out any for ya two... and I know I ain't around much..." He took a deep breath, lowering his left but. "But I just came down to say... how proud I am of ya sister and ya... if somethin' like that happened while I was a Huntsman or a Huntsman in trainin'... I probably wouldn't have done what ya did..." He sighed.

Kris blinked slowly, stopping in place as her brows furrowed. She stared at the door for a moment, not saying a word.

Kagami sighed, blinking once as she stood up. She slid past the redhead, grabbing the doorknob and opening it. She remembered meeting Glenis once, hating even the way she spoke to her daughter, but this man sounded far different than the way Kris had described him. As the door opened up, her eyes met with his. "You try to pull anything funny, I'm kicking you out of this room."

"Ya must be the girl who that wrench of mine complained about when she went to get Kris... said you were a scary bitch and almost killed her." He chuckled, flashing his teeth. He reached up, pushing his hair back with his left hand as he held his right hand behind his back. "Probably was bein' a pussy anyway."

"Uh..." Kagami blinked rapidly, staring at him blankly as she took a step back. She shoved Kris forward, shaking her head as she turned on her heels and stepped away. "Yeah... you can tell he drinks way too much."

Kris stared suspiciously at her father, her brows still furrowed. Her eyes narrowed intensely, her teeth showing. "You honestly expect me to believe that?" She inhaled sharply. "After EVERYTHING?"

"N-No..." He stumbled on his words a bit, taking a deep breath and sighing. His shoulders slowly lowered, his eyes dropping down some. "I really don't... and I don't blame ya..." He sighed again, shaking his head. "I just... wanted to tell ya... even if ya don't believe me." He then started to chuckle, running his left hand through his hair again. "Also say I'm sorry for marrying that old hag and makin' ya and ya sister have to deal with her. At least I can divorce her stupid ass."

She blinked few times, trying not to smile but being unable to hide it. "I can agree with part of what you said." She rolled her eyes, quickly looking away.

"Well... I came here for what I wanted so..." He slowly reached down, placing a small cardboard box down on the floor with his right hand. "Here's... this... hope yalike it... and I'm sorry for it all..." He gently smiled, stepping out. "And also proud of ya."he gave a slight nod, a few strands of his hair falling in front of his face as he shut the door.

Blinking slowly, Kris glanced back at the box before quickly looking away again. "Probably my first flask or something stupid like that..." She grumbled softly, eyeing it once more.

"You should at least see what it is." Cheyenne spoke up in a hushed tone. "I'd love to get any type of gift from my dad. I would... just love to get something from him... even if it was from my childhood..."

Kagami glanced a her, glancing down at her hands as she fiddled with the blanket below her.

"Whatever. It's still probably something really stupid." The redhead muttered, kneeling down next to the box and opening it.

Once it opened, Kris froze. Her eyes slightly widened as she slowly reached in, pulling out a red triangular hat with white trimming and a white puff ball on the top.

"What..." Elise blinked slowly. "What the heck is that?"

"It's... from my favorite fairy tail when I was younger." She blinked rapidly, smiling softly. "It was a story about a magical man who once a year went all across the globe delivering toys to poor children..." Her smile only grew a bit more as she slowly sat down, holding the hat gently in her hands. "He was one of my heroes when I was younger and the reason why I always loved little toys so much... Jess use to read it all the time to me. I didn't even know he knew I liked it..." She trailed off, inspecting the perfectly trimmed hat.

"The Legend of Old Saint Nicolas and His Wife, right?" Elise spoke up, leaning over to look at the hat herself. "I remember having a book about that. Pretty sure it was on my bookshelf as a kid."

"Yeah..." The redhead smiled some more, finding some stitching in the inside of the trimming. Stitched in red, Kris was sown into the fabric. The young girl's eyes slowly widened. If there was one thing her parents never did, it was actually heartfully call her Kris or call her sister Jess. But this hat, that was something else.

Her heat puffed out as her eyes started to swell with tears. She quickly put the hat back in the box, jumping up to her feet and waving her hands in front of her eyes. "No! I can't cry! This is bad!"

"Why... can't you cry?" Cheyenne asked.

"Because my mascara WAS FORTY LIEN!" She snapped back.

Elise blinked once before suddenly bursting into heavy laughter. She shook her head, flopping back onto the bed she was sitting on. "That's the stupidest reason I have ever heard!"

"Shut up!" Kris snapped, glaring at her. "It's true! This mascara cost a lot!"

"It's still a stupid reason!" The brunet laughed, shaking her head around as she rubbed her eyes the the palms of her hands.

As the two began to bicker back and forth again, Kagami slowly made her way over to Cheyenne. "You know, I bet your father would be happy if you went to visit." She smiled.

The Faunus quickly shook her head no, gulping as she glanced down "It's fine... like I said before... I'm not... I'm not ready to go back... and if my mom is dead... then he would most likely be too and I just can't... then I'll actually know I'm..." She trailed off, her voice cracking. "Then I'll know I'm actually alone..."

The jade haired girl smiled softly, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Well, you're not alone. You need to remember that. You have me. And you have them." She eyed the two girls who were fighting. "You'll never be alone, even when they're gone. You'll always have us." She smiled some more.

Cheyenne blinked softly, her vision blurring slightly. She reached up, rubbing her eyes dry before glancing up. "It's fine... I'd rather now... I really don't want to know. Plus," She glanced up at her leader. "Don't you have a family you need to go back to?"

"Uh..." She blinked once before slightly grinning with a raised hand. "Natus is way closer than Vytal. So it's only logical we see you family first. I mean, Elise's parents showed up and now Kris' father." She usher towards her friend. "I believe it's your turn."

She quickly shook her head no, filling as she glanced down. "I... I couldn't..."

"Okay, let me rephrase that." Kagami crossed her arms. "Instead of do want to go there, how about do you want to go see them?"

Gulping even more, Cheyenne slowly glanced up. "I..." She took a shaky breath, slowly nodding. "I've... wanted to God a while. I'm just too afraid to go back... it's been three years."

Flashing a smile, Kagami placed her hand back in her friend's shoulder. "And now you have three great friends who would stick by yours side during it. What do you say?"

Slowly nodding, Cheyenne took a deep breath, slowly looking up. "I guess... if everyone else is okay with it, we could go tomorrow morning. It might take half the day to get there though. Especially if we go by foot."

Chuckling, her safer nodded with a smile. "Trust me, I'll get those two dopes to go one way or another."

Smiling up, the Faunus slowly looked down at her hand. "Thanks, Kagami."

"No problem. Well head off to Natus in the morning." She then blinked some, her usual grin forming. The grin she got when she had an idea. "You know, I'll be back soon." She rushed past, picking up her sword and strapping it on as she bolted out the door. "Later guys!" She called out as is shut.

"Uh wait..." Kris blinked rather confused. "What?" She turned away from the young brunet.

Elise raised an eyebrow, scratching her head as she looked over at Cheyenne. "What's happening?"

The Faunus flashed a smile, leaning back in her chair. "Well... we're going to take a trip back to my home town." She reached up, rubbing her antlers with an awkward chuckle.

Up on the rooftops of a familiar building, Kagami quietly sat with her legs crossed. She drew on the floor of the roof, sighing softly as she waited, night quietly falling as the broken moon rose into view along with several upon several stars. She shut her eyes, taking a deep breath. When she opened them, she saw a darkened outlined image. She flinched, jumping to her feet.

"Holy bloody Oum!" She inhaled softly. "How in the love of all that is holy did you do that!?"

"I'm Nihilus." The young man in the white hoodie stepped from the shadows, the corner of his mouth slightly up as he shook his shaggy blue hair around. "Did you... find anything on how to help Val?"

"I'm getting there." Kagami muttered, taking a step towards him. When she did, her stomach growled in a thirst for food. She groaned shaking it off.

Nihilus raised an eyebrow, shoving his hands deeper into his hoodie pockets. "You hungry?"

"Just a little. It's been a long couple of days." She shook her head, sighing. "It's nothing."

"Here..." He reached around, pulling out a small aluminum box and pulled off its lid, showing some warm fried rice cooked with various pieces of vegetables, bits of scrambled eggs, and chunks of chicken. "I made more than I needed. Thana was full off the first serving."

Kagami blinked a few times, cautiously raising an eyebrow as she slowly took the food. "You're... not trying to poison me, are you?" Even after everything, especially after everything, she was still skeptical of him.

Rolling his eyes, Nihilus turned away. "I'm hard to trust, I get it. Poisoning isn't my thing though. I'd prefer my target to know who I am..." He trailed off and shook his head. "Just eat, okay? I'm not hungry enough for it."

Taking a deep breath, the jade haired girl nodded. In a flash, she quickly began to devour the food even without any utensils. It was clear she was starving from what she had been doing the past few days.

Watching her consume the fried rice, he stepped back with his hands back in his pockets. "Anyway, there must be something else you need if you actually came up here."

"Right..." Kagami trailed off, wiping her mouth as she looked up. She lowered the bow empty box, smiling some with her head tilted to the side. "I need... to borrow someone in your little band of misfits. Only for a day."

He gave a slow nod, raising an eyebrow. "And...who might that be...?" His eyes narrowed.

She simply flashed her teeth, sticking her hands into her pockets. "I'd like to borrow Maya for the day."

"...Oh..." He took a deep breath and nodded again. "I won't...ask the reason... I'll simply trust your judgment..."

"Hey, I ate some food you gave me." She leaned forward a bit with a grin. "I think we're on a semi trusting relationship right now. Though... I still think I'd attack you if you have made a reason for me to."

"R-Right..." He closed his eyes and breathed in. "I'll get her to come here. So long as we eventually take care of Val..."

"Trust me, if there is anything I can actually do right," Kagami grinned, pulling her hands from her pockets and crossing her arms. "It's coming up with insane plans that just barely work. Or I winging it." She chuckled before quickly shaking her hands in defense. "But I actually have a plan in the making. I'd show you... but I'm rather tired and do have to walk all the way back the Caesar's base."

"Then we'll be here tomorrow morning. Unless you'd rather us stop by." He blinked. "Or just her."

She simply shrugged back, giving a small sigh. "Just... just her. You can watch from the distance." She eyed the restaurant her friends and her ate at when Elise's parents showed up on the day she first met Nihilus up here. "Tell her to meet us there and you can watched from up here." She glanced over at him. "Alright?"

"Sounds good. She'll be there." He blinked with a faint smile, though by the time she could notice it, he was gone.

Kagami blinked several times, sticking her hands back in her pockets with a sigh. He defiantly wasn't like any villain she had ever met. None of Valentine's crew was. Aside from Eri and Dion that is. She shook her head, glancing down at the cut on her upper arm. She took a deep breath, looking up at the moon which was falling apart.

"Well... at the rate things are going, I guess I'll be seeing you again soon, mom." She smiled a bit more, jumping off the building as she started back to her team.


	52. Heading Home

Glaring at her own reflection in the small and old bathroom of the abandon house she now spent her days in, Maya's eye twitched ever so slightly. With teeth slightly faded yellow from the lack of brushing in the past few months, plus her mess of a hair and deep dark blue bags under her eyes, she knew she was reaching a tipping point.

Each day she looked in that mirror, she watched herself slowly regress into a horrific monster. Well, in her eyes that's what she saw. But to all others it was the ongrowing amount of depression and guilt. If she believed in gods, she would thank the Oum Brothers for letting Valentine not be in control at the moment.

Her life would become even more of a hell.

Being raised by Valentine was something else. She was brutal, unbelievably brutal. She was so cruel at times, it almost seemed as if she wasn't even human. The pink haired witch was more of a spawn from hell if nothing at all. And if she was in control, she would be raising all sorts of things with Maya for letting something as simple as the death of two boys bring her down.

Maya had been raised from day one to believe that innocent people must die to bring about change. Doesn't mean she ever agreed with that deep down.

Right now, with the death of Fid and Fif, her very soul was being eaten away. She was warned not to grow attached, but who couldn't learn to love those three boys. They were amazing, caring, kind, brave, truthful... they were everything she wasn't. And now, two of them were dead as the third would probably never speak to her again. The only thought of meeting Prac again was him trying to kill her to avenge his brothers.

Gritting her teeth, Maya gave off a quiet groaning scream, gripping the edge of the sink right. She leaned over, letting her tangled hair fall around her face as she gave off a much louder scream. Staring down at the drain, her brown eyes flicked before swelling up with tears. She quickly shut them, standing up straight as she rubbed her palms against her eyes.

"This is your fault..." Her voice trembled as she slowly slid her hands down off her face, glaring back at the monster in the mirror. "Your fault!" She snapped, jerking around as she gripped the sink again.

With her teeth grinding together, she slowly looked up, jaw tight as she glanced at a pair of scissors on the shelf below the mirror. She reached over, snatching it up quickly and holding it. She remained still for what felt like an eternity before she shut her eyes, tossing the scissors into the bathtub with a soft whimper.

"You're a coward! You can't even deal with the inevitable!" She snapped to herself, stepping back until her back hit a wall. She slowly slid down it, pulling her knees up into her chest as her arms wrapped around them. She lowered her head into her knees, quietly whimpering. "You coward..." She muttered, not even flinching as a knock came on the door.

"Maya? Got a minute?" Nihilus voice came from behind the door, followed by a few more knocks. "There's uh... something important I need to speak to you about."

Sniffing quickly, Maya quickly lifted her head. She rubbed her eyes and nose a bit before standing, continuing to rub her nose. "Yeah... hold on. Let me finish up in here. I think that food you made last night had too many spices." She muttered, reaching over and flushing the toilet which had nothing in it before she went to the sink, turning it on and splashing cold water on her face before shutting off the water and stepping towards the door. She took a deep breath, grabbing the doorknob and slowly pulling it open with a gulp. "Yeah...?"

Stepping back a little, Nihilus gave her a slow nod. "Yeah, um... How do I put this..." He rubbed the back of his head. "I'd... like you to head somewhere. It's rather, let's say, imperative you go there, trust me."

"Im...perative...?" She reached up, rubbing her right eye with a small yawn. "What do you mean it would be imperative of me?" Her brows raised slightly as her bloodshot eyes slowly blinked.

"I mean like..." His hands went up momentarily before they went back into his hoodie pockets. "Look, you need to trust me on this one... This is something you'll probably thank me for. Probably not." He corrected himself.

She blinked slowly, a confused look appearing over her face before she shook her head. "O...Okay." She finally gave a nod, sticking her hands in her sweatpants' pockets. "Where... what am I doing exactly?" She took a deep breath. "And where am I going?"

"You're going to that restaurant down on 12th. The one with the outdoor tables." He explained. "You'll know which one when you get there. Oh, and..." His head tilted to the side. "Yeah, you might wanna..." He pointed to her hair before it was suddenly neatly brushed.

Maya blinked several times, raising a hand to move her hair in front of her eyes. Now, the mess of a bird's nest which was her hair felt like silk. "How did-" She stopped herself, slowly nodding. "Right, you stopped time." She sighed softly, glancing up at him. "You want to time stop again and dress me in nice clothing too?" She joked, the corner of her mouth twitching upward ever so slightly.

He shook his head and chuckled under his breath. "Even if you actually wanted me to, it would cost me more seconds than I can pull off. Now, you get going. Maybe grab breakfast before my sister eats it all."

She gave a slow nod, stepping around Nihilus. "Yeah... alright." She inhaled deeply. "Will do." She stepped into her room, completely unaware of who exactly she was going to meet.

Walking through the streets of Vale, the four MACE girls were preparing for their journey ahead. A trip all the way to Natus at this time would take a major amount of guts. Or stupidity. Either way though, these four would find their way there. Well, the four girls plus one extra companion...

"I don't see why we have to go to the stupid coffee shop." Kris complained, her hands behind her head with her eyes shut. "I'm ready to get this trip on with."

"You know..." Cheyenne raised a finger. "If you keep walking with your eyes closed you're going to run into something."

As the redhead scoffed, Elise stuck her hands in the pocket on Kagami's hoodie which the brunet was still wearing. "Why EXACTLY are we going to the coffee shop?" She asked her leader.

Smiling ever so slightly, the jade haired girl glanced back at her team. "Because, we're bringing someone else along."

"Huh?" Kris opened her eyes, grunting softly as her forehead struck a stop sign. She groaned, rubbing a bulging bump on her head before looking up. "What do you mean by we're bringing someone along..." She trailed off, blinking rapidly as their neared the coffee shop. There, sitting quietly and nervously was the twin of one of her best friends. "Oh hell no." She stopped her walk, crossing her arms. "No fu-"

"Kris! PG!" Cheyenne snapped, placing her palm over the redhead's mouth.

Grumbling, she pulled the Faunus' hand down. "Aero got to say it..." She complained.

"Well Aero is an adult." She crossed her arms. "And I'm older than you." Her eyes narrowed.

Elise blinked slowly, staring at Maya before slowly looking over at Kagami. "Are you sure bringing her would be a good idea."

"Yeah." She nodded back. "She deserves to go home just as much as Chey does."

Everyone was silent for a moment before Cheyenne gulped, slowly looking up at the two. "She deserves to see them more than me... if they're alive..."

"But guys..." Kris stared up at her friends before sighing. She slowly stood up straight, rubbing the back of her head slowly. "Fine." She groaned. "But I don't agree with this."

"You don't have to agree with something to do it." Kagami flashed a smile, continuing her walk towards the coffee shop, her friends not far behind.

Sitting at a table, Maya chewed on her lip a bit as she stirred a cup of coffee with a spoon, mixing in the creamer. She let out a shaky exhale, every nerve in her body on fire. She trusted Nihilus with her life, but just to listen to him blindly and come here was absolutely insane. She took a deep breath, letting go of her spoon just as a glimpse of green, brown, and red caught her sight. She quickly looked up, eyes widening as she shot to her feet.

"Maya..." Kagami said calmly, pulling her hands from her pocket. "We're not going to hurt you... alright?" She faintly smiled. To her left and a step behind her, Elise stood with her arms crossed and eyes narrowed. She had faith in Kagami, but even sometimes faith could be wrong.

"Well..." Kris muttered, standing on her right and a step behind. She then grunted, feeling her team leader's elbow ram into her side.

"We just need to talk, okay?" Cheyenne spoke, gulping some as she slowly stepped towards the table. "Please... sit, okay?"

Maya's eyes darted between the four girls before she shakily sat back down. If this was what Nihilus had in mind, she was definitely going to have a very long talk with him when she got back to their hideout. "Wh-What?" She barely managed out, her voice trembling.

The four MACE girls all glanced at each other before sitting down at the table with Cheyenne's twin. The deer Faunus on Maya's left and Elise on her right. Kagami sat next to Elise while Kris sat down next to Cheyenne.

"Listen," Kagami took a deep breath, rubbing the back of her head a bit. "We're going to go on a trip. It won't take that long but... I honestly think you should go. And so does Nihilus."

While Maya gained a puzzled look, Cheyenne took a very deep and shaky breath. Slowly, she looked over at her sister. "We're... taking a break from Vale and we're going to take a small trip to Natus." She gulped a little. "See if... see how our parents are doing." She raised a hand, pointing over at her leader. "And she thinks you should come along. And I don't think it's completely a bad idea..."

"Are...you sure you want me to go?" Maya seemed hesitant, but a curiosity was growing inside of her. This could be a chance for something, what that was she was unsure about. As unsure of that as she was of if she deserved to see them, after what had happened. "W-What if..."

"None of us are going I force you to go, alright?" Kagami spoke in a hushed tone. "But right now I greatly advise that you do. I don't know how to persuade you... but I-"

"I know how to persuade her!" Elise suddenly grinned, holding up her hand with a soft chuckle.

Kris raised an eyebrow, slowly glancing over at her. "What have you done this time?"

"I haven't done anything." The brunet smiled back with a soft chuckle. "It's what Kagami is about to do."

"Wait, what?" The jadette quickly looked around with wide eyes, pointing at herself. "Me?"

"Yes you." Elise crossed her arms. "You're the only Kagami here."

"Wait... what is she doing?" Cheyenne raised an eyebrow.

She grinned again, suddenly pulling Kagami's book of poems out of thin air. "The one thing she always does to pull at heartstrings."

"Wait... were you carrying that with you?" Kris held up a finger, tilting her head as confusion filled her green eyes.

"Not the point." The brunet quickly shot back before shoving the book into her leader's chest. "Now write something nice!"

Kagami grunted, the air in her lungs being pushed out. After a second, she reached up and grabbed her book, snatching it away with a faint glare before softly smiling. "Fine. Give me... five minutes."

The next five minutes were the longest of Maya's life. Each second felt like a minute itself, and the minutes feeling like hours didn't help at all. Giving a soft sigh, the jade haired girl calmly set a pen and her book down onto the table. She leaned back and quietly began to speak.

Long ago, before we even knew

There was something written true

We were bound together by fate

Though our lives grew at different rates

Our names were written on the same slate

Separated when we were young

You never knew our mother's song

Never hear our father's caring tone

When you scrape your knee on stone

Oum forbid if they're actually gone

But they're your family, not a con

You need to see for yourself, find the truth

Discover where you were born, under that roof

I know we're not them

And you're genuinely frighten

But you owe it to yourself

And if not then do it for their health

Because if they truly are alive

They would want to know you two have survived

Slowly gazing towards the ground, Maya silently thought to herself while swallowing air in her throat. She looked back up slowly, nodding once at her sister. "O-Okay..." She said and took a deep breath, "Let's go seem them."

Cheyenne slowly grinned, reaching up and rubbing her eyes a bit as she glanced over at Kagami. "Alright. Let's do this."

Up on the rooftops, Nihilus watched as the group of five girls slowly stood up. The corner of his mouth ever so slightly twitched upward as he lowered his head and shut his eyes. He nodded a bit, sticking his hands into his pockets as he turned on his heels, taking several steps before his eyes opened and flashed gold. A second later, he was gone, a gentle breeze blowing through the city.

On the outskirts of Vale, the legendary group of bandits known as the BBB still had their base camp set up. Most of the members were waiting for orders to either attack or leave at this point while others, others knew far more.

Stretching her arms out with a yawn, Jade slowly sat up underneath a tree. "Morning already..." She groaned, sticking her pinky finger in her ear and twisting it around in an attempt to clean it. She took a deep breath, pulling her arm down and wiping it on her jeans.

"I see you're finally awake." Her father's voice spoke up in the quiet sounds of the woods.

"Yeah, wish I could sleep more though." She yawned again, looking up. When she did, she blinked rapidly and tilted her head. "Dad...?"

"Yes?" Shinrin stepped towards her, his cloak swaying softly as usual. The only difference though was his hair. Rather it being the long and beautiful hair that Jade knew, it was cut short into a military high and tight style.

"What... happened to your hair?" Her tea green eyes went wide. "I've never seen it that short since... since mom..." She trailed off as he sighed.

"I know." He nodded slowly. "It's been several years since I cut it. I let her died. Her death was on me." He inhaled deeply. "It wouldn't have been honorable of me to keep my hair at that length after letting her die."

Jade blinked slowly, rising up to her knees before standing. "So... why did you cut it this time? What happened? Did someone in our group..." She trailed off again with a gulp.

Shinrin gave off a sigh, shaking his head softly. He glanced down at the ground before looking up at her. "I cut it because of what I'm about to do."

"What do you-" She was cut off, several hands grabbing her arms. "Hey!" She snapped, jerking around.

"Hold still!" A male bandit called out to her as several others started stripping her of the multiple blades she kept on her person.

"DAD!" Jade snapped once again, grunting as her back hit the tree she was resting under moments ago. The hands holding her pulled her hands behind the tree, metal snapping and binding them together. She gave off a scream, bringing up a foot and ramming it into one of her fellow brethren.

While he grunted and stumbled back, the other bandits around her all quickly stepped back in order to miss her rageful blows.

"What the hell are you doing!?" Jade shouted at the top of her lungs, her head thrashing as her hair wrapped around her face. As she slid down the tree, slowly sitting down with heavy breathing, she glared up at her father as he walked towards her.

"Listen, this doesn't mean I love you any less." Shinrin knelt down on one knee in front of her. "I am simply doing what is necessary. These people count on me for food and shelter and warmth." He motioned to the group of bandits around them. "And I will not allow your childish instincts to fight to get in the way of what must be done."

The young woman blinked a few times, letting the words process in her head. When they finally sunk in, she jerked against her binds. "I made a deal with Kagami! I lost fair and square! You can't go and-!"

"YOU made a deal with her! Not ME!" His voices roared in pure anger. And for the first time, Jade flinched back against the tree in fear. "I am not going to sit here and listen to your childish and idiotic promises! I have people I must take care of!"

Jade gulped slowly, glancing up at her father. "I made... a deal. Honoring my word is something you taught me to do."

"Why do you think I cut my hair?" His eyes narrowed as he put his hands on his knees and stood up. "This discussion is over. Later tonight we are heading into Vale and you are staying here. Understood, Jade?"

She gritted her teeth, her hands balling up into tight fist. "You can't do this..."

Shinrin took a deep breath, shaking his head as he turned on his heels and walked away. "I already have."

Walking down a path through the woods, Elise and Kagami were both carrying a backpack with sleeping bags on them. The two lead the group, staying in the front while trying to figure out the map they had in their hands.

"I don't think they know where we're going." Kris chuckled, the hilt of Kagami's sword sticking out from underneath her long red coat.

Cheyenne glanced up at the two, standing next to Elise with a small shrug. Across her back, along with her own Atlas rifle, was Elise's air compressed rifle. "I'm sure we'll find our way. Natus isn't THAT far away."

"How... far away is it?" Maya spoke up quietly, gulping some as she rubbed her arms.

Her twin glanced back at her, smiling softly. "If we keep walking and don't stop, we should get there maybe three hours before nightfall."

"Ugh." Kris complained, her arms dropping. "That means we'll be walking for like..." She counted on her fingers. "Like eight hours!"

"Yep." The Faunus reached over, smiling as she patted her shoulder. "Hope you're ready for your exercise."

As the redhead complained and grumbled, Maya glanced around the surroundings as they walked on. In the distance, hidden between the trees, she spotted a family of deer. There was a large buck, one of his antlers seemingly broken from a previous fight he had with another. To the side of him was a doe, her body slim as could be. She gently rubbed her antlerless head onto the buck, giving him well deserved affection. Walking underneath their legs was a baby buck with small antlers, just growing in, and a young doe. Maya couldn't help but smile at the family. She then blinked, straightening as her brows furrowed. Slowly, she glanced over at her sister.

"Hey, Cheyenne?" The Faunus' twin quietly spoke up.

"Yeah?" Said girl glanced back with raised eyebrows. "What's wrong?"

"You're a female... deer Faunus, right?" She hugged herself a bit more.

"Yes..." Cheyenne slowly nodded back. "Why do you ask?"

Maya glanced around before slowly reaching up and rubbing her head. "But... female deer don't have antlers... so how do you have them?"

The deer Faunus blinked several times, suddenly stopping in her walk. She quickly reached up, crouching down as her hands went to the sides of her head. "My whole existence is a lie..." She muttered quietly, a dark cloud of gloom coming over her.

"Oh boy." Kris waved off the darkness, picking Cheyenne back onto her feet. "Come on. We have a place to be and no time to waste." She urged her on forward.

Hours later, after endless footsteps and a never ending road, team MACE along with Maya walked through the rough streets of Natus.

"I heard that Natus was a rough place to live in," Kris looked around, sighing softly. "But this place looks awful."

"It's honestly not that bad." Cheyenne smiled softly, looking around the small town which she grew up in. "It's actually gotten better in the years that I have been gone."

"Oh..." The redhead blinked, trailing off.

"So this is where your parents live?" Maya gulped some, hiding herself inside the group of girls.

"Where OUR parents live." The Faunus quickly responded. "If... they're not..."

"I'm sure they're fine." Kagami reassured, looking back with a smile. "They are fine."

"It's just... the last time I saw them they were beaten into a pulp..." Cheyenne gulped.

"Doesn't mean they're not alive." Elise smiled back at her with a chuckle. "If they're anything like you, then they definitely be a fighter. Both of them. Now show us the way to your house."

"Right, right." She took a deep breath, stepping up towards the front of the group. As she did, a Faunus of raggedy clothes stumbled past him. His hair was a dark red, claws etching from his fingertips.

"Huh?" Kris glanced up at him as he bumped into her. "Hey! Watch it, buddy!" She snapped.

"Eh?" He glanced up at her, his maroon eyes swaying back and forth like he was either on some type of drugs or drunk. Though, he didn't reek of any type of liquid. His eyes then perked up, like he was just now processing the girl in front of him. "Oh, heh, hello there little lady." He whistled.

"Oh no..." Cheyenne glanced back, sighing deeply. She reached up, pinching the bridge of her nose.

Kagami herself immediately tensed, going to reach for her sword only to pause and blink as she remembered Kris was carrying it. She growled deeply, taking a step forward before she felt a hand go on her shoulder.

"Let me take care of this." The deer Faunus smiled. "This is my turf now." She grinned a bit, patting her leader's back as she stepped forward.

"Um... okay?" Kagami blinked, glancing back at Elise who simply shrugged back.

"You know, you're a sexy little thing." The wolverine Faunus chuckled, poking at Kris' cheek which went red. Anger suddenly flickered in her eyes as she started to reach for her weapons.

"H-Hey Kris... I don't think fighting would be a good idea here..." Maya bit her lip, holding her arms tight.

"Like I give a-" The red head stopped herself, eyes widening as her body went stiff.

"Come on, Jaykob. Why don't you leave my friends and me alone?" Cheyenne smiled, leaning over Kris' shoulder. With her arms under Kris' arms, the Faunus' hands gentle cupped the redhead's small breast. "This little one here is mine." She giggled just a bit, squeezing her softly.

Kris' eyebrow twitched ever so slightly, her face going as red as her hair. Her entire body was as stiff as a board. Though, the feeling wasn't entirely bad. Not that she would ever admit that to herself.

"Eh? Don't tell me all of them are with you..." Jaykob took a deep breath, sighing with a groan. "Damn it!" He shouted, throwing his arms around as he walked off. "Oum damn it!"

"What... the... actual..." Kagami blinked rapidly, raising a hand before slowly lowering it.

"Uh... Chey...?" Elise raised an eyebrow, her face twitching slightly. "What just..."

"Huh? Oh." Cheyenne smiled, letting go of Kris and stepping back. "You don't want to cause fights here unless you're willing to deal with trouble." She smiled, pointing at herself with her thumb. "I know how to get out of any situation here without any violence."

"And that was..." Maya trailed off, still in shock with what just happened.

"Oh, that's Jaykob Bric." She rolled her eyes with a sigh as she started to walk again. "That idiot will go screw with any girl he can get his hands on. Surprised he's still alive here... he has twelve sons though. Only problem is he thinks lesbians carry diseases so he stands as clear from them as he possibly can. He's not that bad when you get to know him, he just has a few issues he needs to work out."

"What kind of crazy town are we in..." Elise trailed off, following behind Cheyenne to which Maya quickly began to catch up with her.

Kagami blinked, shaking her head with a sigh before glancing up at Kris. "Come on! We're going!" She called out.

The redhead simply stood there as still as she could, her face as bright as ever. "K-Kay..." She managed to get out, still completely flustered on. What just happened.

Coming up to a small and beaten up house that looked like it was a few years from completely falling apart, the group of girls all stood in place, staying on the sidewalk in front of the house.

"So this... is where you grew up?" Elise sighed some, feeling bad deep down.

"Y-Yeah..." Cheyenne's voice trembled as she tried to speak. "I-It is." She gulped. It was obvious she was terrified at this moment. She had no clue who was inside this house exactly. It could be her parents, or someone completely different.

"I'm sure it's nice on the inside..." Kris tried to cheer the mood up a bit, her nerves still shaken from earlier.

"It's o-okay..." The deer Faunus gulped some, looking back at her sister.

"This...was home..." She mumbled softly, just as uneasy as her twin. Glancing at her, she breathed in and nodded very slowly.

Kagami glanced between the four girls, looking up at the old looking door before back at her friends. She took a deep breath, shaking her head as she walked up towards the door. "I'll get the door then." She half smiled, reaching up and knocking on the door five times. She waited for a moment, several locks unlocking before the door slowly creaked open.

At the other side of the door, a male deer Faunus with a broken antler sat in his wheelchair. His brown hair was a mess, not to mention the bags under his eyes showing how tired and exhausted he was. His eyes slowly narrowed, one hand clutching the door while the other held his chair. "Listen..." He breathed heavily. "I told him I'd have the money by the end of this month... and I will."

"Um." Kagami scratched the back of her head, sighing slightly before she side stepped, holding out an arm to her friends behind her. More importantly at two of them. "I don't want your money. I just brought some people who would like to say hello."

"I don't know any..." The disabled Faunus trailed off and took a double take after rubbing his eyes. "Wait a minute..." He kept blinking in disbelief. "A-Are you really...?"

"D-Dad...?" Cheyenne gulped, her eyes swelling up with tears as she bit her lip. At the moment, she didn't know what to do. It was like her feet were glued to the concrete.

Theodore's eyes slowly widened before he opened the door all the way, wheeling forward a bit. "Dakota! Dakota! Come here right now!" He called

"What?! Theo! What is it?!" Said woman rushed out the door, her blonde hair swaying back and forth. Like her husband, she too had a dead sleepless look in her eyes. "Wha-!" She stopped herself, staring at the two twins before her. "W-Wait..." Her eyes went wide as her breathing hitched. "N-No... it's not... is it...?"

Something tore at Cheyenne's insides as she bit her lip, the tears swelling up in her eyes falling down the sides of her face. "M-Mom..."

Maya was at a loss for words, her eyelids fluttering with tears. Her mouth was open but nothing came out. These were her real parents. The ones who gave her away, but her own parents regardless. What was she going to say? 'It's great to see the you guys after giving me away!'? Nothing came to mind. After letting out a sigh with closed eyes, she finally mustered up the courage. "H-Hi..."

Theodore and Dakota stared back, both speechless. Finally, Dakota's eyes swelled up with tears as she began to cry. In a flash, she had Cheyenne in her arms, hugging her as tight as she possibly could. "I'm so glad you're alright!" She spoke, sobbing as she did so. She glanced up at Maya, her eyes only swelling more. She quickly pulled her close into a hug as well. "I-I never thought... I wanted better for you... and you had a chance being human..." She bit her lip, shutting her eyes as she held her two children, tears still falling.

Still in disbelief, Theodore slowly pushed himself forward, his wheelchair creaking. "Chey...Cheyenne... what happened... how did you... where have you..." He trailed off, unable to find his words.

The young deer Faunus glanced up, still holding her mother tight as she looked at her father. She smiled softly, taking a deep breath. "It's a long story..." She slowly pulled away from her mother, walking up towards her dad with a soft smile, brushing her tears aside. "But you should also explain how you're still here." She bit her lip, softly chuckling.

"Same way we always had..." His breathing was shaky as a smile crept onto his face. He held out his arms, choking back tears. "Now come here. I've missed you... a single day hasn't gone by since then that I haven't thought of you and what I must have put you through..."

"Dad..." She trailed off, quickly leaning down and hugging him tight, more tears falling. "If that never happened I would have never met such amazing friends..." She sniffed, burying her head in his shoulder. "And it's not your fault... it's not your fault."

He coughed a bit, patting her back before holding her tight. Unable to hold it in anymore, he began to cry himself. Despite how much he didn't want to.

Still holding Maya tight, Dakota slowly pulled away from her daughter, staring into her eyes with her own teary ones. "S-So... you're Chey's sister...?" She asked, gulping as she rubbed her eyes.

Maya slowly nodded, shaking a bit. "You're...my mother..." She replied with a soft tone, blinking with now blurred eyes. "My real mother..."

"I am... I am." She bit her lip, quickly pulling the young girl close to her again with a tight hold. "I'm your real mother. And I'm so sorry for giving you up. I just thought... we thought you'd have a better chance... not stuck here..."

"You know, this is nice." Elise smiled, arms crossed.

"Yeah." Kris nodded, chuckling softly as she leaned onto the brunet. "It's really sweet."

Still standing by the door, Kagami had her arms crossed as she leaned up against the side of the house. She too couldn't help but smile at the family that was torn apart years ago. She lowered her head some, smiling a bit more with a soft chuckle of her own.

A while later, the group of them were sitting in the living room. Theodore in his chair with Cheyenne, Maya, and Dakota on a couch. The rest of team MACE calmly sat on the floor, listening quietly as the reunited family talked back at for.

And though Maya was extremely hesitant at first, she recalled the story of her growing up. Everything from being raised by a practical demon to the endless deaths she was forced to commit. She held onto herself, her jaw tight as she trembled. "A-And then... he told me to go this restaurant... so I went and met them and we came here..." She sniffed heavily, pulling her knees into her chest. She shook her head around, pressing her palms into her hands. "A-And now... I'm here..."

Theodore stared in utter disbelief and shock at his daughter's words. They had given her up for a better life, not that kind of hell. He lowered his head, his teeth showing as he clenched his fist. "D-Damn it...!" He snapped.

Dakota sat there with her hands over her mouth, a horrified look in her eyes. "M-Maya...how could that happen? Why would...anyone put a little girl through so much?"

"Because she's not exactly human... well, Valentine isn't human at least." Kagami quietly spoke up, looking up at her friend's parents. "It's... a long and complicated story."

"Plus... with her raising me... it felt like it was the only thing I could do... and that it was right..." Maya gulped.

"Wait, so who is Valentine?" Theodore looked up with a shaky breath. Team MACE each looked at each other before the three glanced at Cheyenne. The Faunus took a deep breath, rubbing the back of her head.

"Guess it's my turn to explain where I've been." She faint smiled. She then went on, explaining how she was saved by that White Fang and taken in under their wing and eventually ran away.

"So I decided to head to Beacon and learn how to save people and give them better lives... like I couldn't do with you..." She trailed off, shaking her head some with a smile. "But Elise then almost took off my head because she thought I was a freelancing deer."

At that, Theodore slowly looked over at the brunet, growling softly with narrowed eyes.

"Yeah, my bad." Elise chuckled softly, rubbing the back of her head with eyes shut.

The young Faunus then went on the explaining the adventures of the past year. Oh the madness and joy and utter pain of it all. Like her sister, she had to stop at a few points to regain her composer.

When she finally finished, Theodore took a deep breath, scratching at his antlers. "Oh boy... that's... the two of you." He shook his head, taking another deep breath. "I'm just happy the two of you are okay now." He nodded, smiling a little. "And that you have such great friends protecting you." There was still worry and concern in his eyes, but at least it had died down some.

"So much has happened without either of us knowing..." Dakota muttered and rubbed the tears from her eyes. "I wish we could've seen it. At least been there when things went south..."

"If... I may speak?" Kagami raised her hand before lowering it. She gulped some, rubbing the back of her head. "Since... you couldn't be for them earlier... why not atleast be there for them now?"

"Huh?" Maya glanced over at her, the jadette slowly nodding.

Cheyenne blinked a few times, looking between her parents and her sister. She took a deep breath, biting her lip. "As much as I would like to stay with you... my job isn't done in Vale yet." She softly smiled. "I... hope you understand."

Her father blinked a bit, scoffing slightly as he crossed his arms. "Always trying to do your best. You honestly haven't changed." He smiled.

"But... we just got you back and-" Her mother was cut off, Cheyenne speaking again.

"Mom, please." Cheyenne smiled back, doing her best not to cry again as she looked into her mother's eyes. "I'm eighteen now. Let me do what I need to do. What I want to do."

"Honey, come on." Theodore put an arm around her with a shaky breath.

"B-But what if... what if everything doesn't go right and..." She trailed off, biting down on one of her fingers nervously.

"I'd come back and visit, I promise." Cheyenne smiled as caringly as she could. "I promise."

"W-Wait am I..." Maya's eyes widened a bit as they started to swell up with tears again.

Theodore nudged his wife who slowly reached out, putting a hand on Maya's thigh. "I know I wasn't there before..." Dakota smiled at her daughter. "But I am now. And we might not have a perfect house or a great amount of money, but I'll be here. For you."

She blinked a few times before she began to cry again. She quickly shot to her feet, holding her REAL mother as tight as she could as she started to sob.

"Hey, you said you owed people money, right?" Kagami smiled a bit, looking at Theodore.

"Yeah." The disabled Faunus gave a nod. "What about it?"

With a grin, the jade haired girl looked back at Kris. "Think your little butler friend can help us out?"

Grinning back, Kris looked up at Theodore with a chuckle. "How much lien do you need?"

"No, no please." He shook his head. "It's far too much for you girls to pay for."

"Who said I was paying?" The redhead smile. "How much?"

Theodore gulped a bit, glancing around. "About eighty seven thousand lien still."

"Done and done." Kris shot to her feet with a smile. "I'll have someone bring it to you the day after tomorrow. Promise."

He raised an eyebrow at her, scoffing as he shook his head. "Whatever you say, kid."

"You know, Chey." Elise too smiled up at her teammate. "How could have you gotten with your semblance?" She eyes around the house.

The deer Faunus blinked once before smiling a bit. "If I pass out it's your fault."

"Pass out?" Dakota looked up, rubbing her eyes as she pulled away from Maya. "What do you mean pass out?"

Kagami softly chuckled, standing up as did Cheyenne. "Here, I'll help." The Faunus smiled as the two locked eyes. When the jadette blinked, her eyes were suddenly brown. "Ready?" She asked with an epic grin.

"Probably not, but we'll never know till I try." She smiled back.

The two knelt down on the floor, placing their hands palm side down as they began to glow. The bright and beautiful glow slowly spread across the floor and walls, even covering the furniture and everything else. As it faded, Cheyenne and Kagami both collapsed, Elise catching her leader as Kris caught the Faunus.

"Holy Oum..." Theodore looked around, his eyes as wide as they could go. The entire inside and outside of the house now looked... brand new. "How did you do that?"

"Chey can reverse the age of an object." Kris smiled, helping the Faunus to sit up.

"And Kagami can copy someone's semblance because she has magic in her veins." Elise chuckled a bit, assisting the jade haired girl.

"That's..." Dakota looked around. "That's amazing." As tears swelled up in her eyes again, she bit her lip and looked back down at the group of girls. "How could I ever thank you...?"

"You don't have too, mom..." Cheyenne smiled, rubbing her head a bit.

"Just... take care of Maya... alright?" Kagami glanced up with a soft chuckle.

"Will do." She responded, rubbing her eyes with a smile.

"Both of us will." Theodore added, smiling back as well.

Maya couldn't help but sniff, hugging her knees tight with a huge smile. She was finally home. Finally at a place she could call home. And while here, she could learn to get over everything that had happened to her. Here, she'd finally learn what it's like to have a real family.

Later that night, team MACE was curled up inside sleeping bags around a campfire which was starting to die down. While Cheyenne and Kris were dead asleep, Elise and Kagami were still awake.

Poking at the Fire a bit with her sword, Kagami coughed some while hiding inside her sleeping bag.

"You are taking care of that cut on your arm, right?" Elise asked, yawning some. "Because of you get sick all madness would break loose."

"It's probably just the smoke." She waved her off, coughing a bit more before sheathing her sword and laying down. She yawned herself, staring up at the stars and broken moon. "Just the smoke."

"It better be." The brunet stared at her worryingly for a moment before rolling over onto her other side. "Night, Kagami."

"Goodnight, Elise." The Jade haired girl responded, slowly shutting her eyes as she drifted off.

Back at Vale, at the same exact time, Jess was patrolling the rooftops when she spotted some movement in the distance. She stepped over to the edge, crouching down as she took out a pair of binoculars. "Now what's out there... don't tell me more Grimm." Her eyes narrowed, focusing on one person. It was then she noticed the three Bs tattooed on his hand. "Oh shit!" She shot to her feet, eyes wide. She then faintly smirked, crossing her arms. "I'll be damned, those little brats were actually helpful. But oh shit!" She scrambled away, heading back to the base as quick as she could.

The following day, the four MACE girls were walking the streets of Vale once again. And though they were exhausted, they still couldn't ignore the voices going around them.

"I heard some serious fighting last night. Didn't sound like any type of Grimm though."

"Yeah I heard that too, it sounded more like people versus people."

"I was told some bandit group tried to sneak on. Luckily the Atlas military was able to give us a hand."

"No wonder the news isn't talking about it. If word got out, all hell would break loose."

"That's so true though. It really would."

"Kagami..." Elsie slowly looked up at her leader.

Staring down at the ground as they walked, the jade haired girl sighed and shook her head. "Yeah... I know." There was a clear sign of disappointment in her voice.

Kris blinked a few times, biting her lip. "Come on, we'll go talk to Jess and Julia. I'm sure they can explain it better." She urged them onward.

"You know that was a very dangerous and stupid move!" Julia went on, ranting as the four girls each sat on the floor with their heads down. "Why wouldn't you come straight to me when you found out literally one of the deadliest bandit groups were planning an attack! I barely had time to embolize my defenses!"

Kagami took a deep breath, slowly looking up with a gulp. "It was my fault... Captain Caesar..." She sighed and looked back down. "I thought... in my gut I thought I could trust her... my gut usually isn't wrong..."

"Well it was this time." Julia glared before sighing. She reached up, pinching her nose. "Listen, I know you are all still just kids, but you can't keep running around playing hero. You're going to get people killed." She sighed again, looking up at the four girls. "Just, consider yourself lucky no one got killed on our end. No soldiers or civilians. You are very, very lucky. Now, back to your room." She waved them off, rubbing her face. "You're on latrine duty until I say other ways. All of you. Every day." She crossed her arms. "Same for you Jess! I know you're listening! You're lucky I don't demote you!"

"Awww..." A voice came from the shadows. "But thank you, ma'am!"

Julia rolled her eyes, walking off as did the four young girls. They head back to their room, opening it up. "At Least, things went sorta-" Elise started to speak very being pulled into the room with a yelp.

Kagami immediately stepped in, clutching her sword handle tight. "Hey!" She snapped, her shoulders lowering as she let go of her sword. "Oh." She blinked a few times, seeing Eleanor swing Elise around in a tight hug.

"Oh I was so worried for you when I couldn't get a hold of you! I thought something happened!" Elise's mother cried out, squeezing her daughter tighter.

"Can't... breathe..." The young brunet groaned, her face turning red.

"Well how have you three been?" Klein smiled brightly, holding his three sons in his arms.

Kris blinked a bit, chuckling at Elise as Cheyenne looked up at the Giant of a man. "We were, just doing what needed to be done." She smiled a bit more.

"This is why you never have parents in any type of action thing where the kids are the ones saving the world!" Elise complained, trying to get free from her mother. "Someone help!" She demanded.

"Naw, I'd rather both." Kagami chuckled. "It's kind of amusing to watch."

"Kagamiii!" She screamed.

Outside Vale's walls, Jade glared harshly up at her father as the restraints on her were undone. She slowly stood up, standing in front of the man who raised her. She didn't faulted in her glare as she rubbed her wrist, red marks there from her struggling to get free. After a minute of silence, she pulled her fist back and drive it forward. "I hate you! You bastard!"

She grunted, his large and muscular hand catching her fist. It was then she realized the look in his eyes. There was then a loud smack, Jade's face going to the side as a bright red handprint appeared on her cheek. Slowly, she looked back up with a more concerned glare as she rubbed the side of her face.

"Shut up, you brat." He snarled, to which she stepped back.

The young woman glanced between the members of her group before she looked back up at Shinrin. "What happened?"

He gritted his teeth, glaring harder. "Those damn friends of yours clearly told someone. The second we stepped foot in Vale the damn military was on top of us." He grunted, crossing his arms under his cloak. "And you thought you could trust them."

"And they thought they could trust me with not attacking." She smirked. "Guess we were both smart." She then grunted again, her father slapping her once again.

"I said shut up!" He snapped, every muscle on his body flexing. "Because of your damn actions, one of us is dead!"

"D-Dead...?" Jade slowly looked up at him, all the rage and anger draining from her face.

Shinrin scoffed, shaking his head. "What? Now you'll pay attention? I don't know who the hell it was, but I know for a fact they definitely weren't military. I honestly don't even know if they were human with the way they acted..." He shook his head, taking a deep breath. "But I do know one thing. They had to have been some type of criminal."

Jade blinked slowly, glancing up at him before sighing and looking down. "We're going to war with the crime network in Vale, aren't we?"

"Until I avenge Franz Duke's death, we are." He said calmly, anger boiling up inside him. "Death by military or Huntsman is one thing, but death by a damn gangster is another."

Later that night, as the sun started to set, the one and only Eri Sin strolled in Sanguine's night club. The blonde couldn't help but smirk, blood staining her face and clothes as well as underneath her fingernails and hands. Without so much as taking note, she walked up to a table that the owner of the club was sitting at, tossing a severed head of a main with a rainbow mohawk.

Sanguine blinked a few times, pushing her playing cards and poker chips aside. "Did you just..."

Eri smirked, throwing a piece of flesh, tattooed with BBB on it, down on top a pile of poker chips. "Do I have your respect now?"

Blinking slowly, the older blonde stared in almost disbelief. She then began to faintly smile before leaning back in her chair with a slow nod. "You do. You do indeed."


	53. A Rainbow In The Dark

In the middle of the night, with the broken moon shining through a window and down across Elise's bed, the young brunet had to hide her face underneath the blankets just to fall asleep. Though, with the fabric covering her head, it easily became hot and uncomfortable underneath. She tossed and turned, sticking one leg out from under her blankets and pulling it back in over and over again. Dozing on and off, she eventually found herself moments from falling asleep but just before she could, she her faint coughing from the bed beside hers. She slowly slid the blankets from her face, blinking several times as she squinted her eyes at the bright moonlight. "What... are you doing...?" She quietly asked.

"Huh?" Sitting underneath a blanket with a flashlight on, Kagami flicked it off and pulled the blanket down. "I'm just reading."

"It is the middle of the night." Elise sat up. "Who reads in the middle of the night?" Her brow raised.

"I do." She set the flashlight down and crossed her arms. "You do."

"I..." The young farm girl trailed off, sighing slightly as her head lowered. She shook it softly, looking back up. "Okay, okay, fair enough." She leaned over a bit. "What are you reading anyway?"

"Stuff about Geist Grimm." She sighed, rubbing her head a bit. She coughed slightly, covering her mouth with her arm before shaking her head. "It really doesn't make any sense. That ghost Grimm should only be able to possess inorganic objects. That's how all the history on it goes. Yet somehow... one has taken possession over a human..."

Elise stared for a bit, sighing softly as she laid down on her side and propped her head up with her hand. "Well... maybe..." She yawned. "Maybe it has to do with who put it in her exactly? Maybe they are some like Lord of Grimm or something?"

"Lord of Grimm?" She softly, chuckled, shaking her head. "You gotta be kidding me."

"No, what if it's true!" Elise held out her other arm. "What if there is some Grimm King or Grimm Queen! Whoever did it had to have some special connection to Grimm..." She trailed off a bit.

"Let me guess, they would be able to talk to Grimm too, huh?" The jade haired girl raised on eyebrow.

"Maybe." She shrugged back then blinked a bit. "You really want to help Val, don't you."

"I promised I would." She glanced down at the book in her hands before back up at her friend. "Besides, isn't that what a Huntress is suppose to do? Help people who need it."

"Yeah but..." She sighed, shutting her eyes as she rolled onto her back. "She had that guy kidnap you and then she beat you."

"That wasn't Val. That was the Grimm inside her." Kagami quickly defended.

Elise shook her head, moving it to look at her leader. "How do you know that? What if..." She sighed, shaking her head a bit. "Nevermind."

"Nevermind what?" She glanced over.

"It's just..." She groaned softly. "You always say trust you and not say a single thing about some crazy plan that could either fail or not. We all trust you... we do, but you need to give a little to take a little. That's how a team works, remember?"

The jadette stared for a moment, blinking a few times before sighing. "I... I know it's just..." She trailed off.

"Just what?" Elise sat up all the way. "What exactly?"

"You... just probably won't approve." She quietly spoke.

"Why?" The brunet's eyebrows raised high. "Why exactly? Friendship is a two way street, Kagami."

Gulping some, she reached back, rubbing the back of her head before pulling her arm around and coughing into it. "I know... I know, Elise." She reached up, rubbing her eyes.

The young farm girl stared for a moment, sighing softly as she shook her head. After a moment of silence, she glanced up. "You sound like you're getting sick, you know."

"It's nothing." Kagami looked over. "I've been drinking my mother's herbal tea. It should knock whatever it is out."

Elise sighed again, laying back down and curling up under her blankets. "You're not sleeping enough. You're not eating enough. Ever since you had that fight with that bandit cousin of yours, you've been non-stop working on figuring out a way to help Val, but you need to help yourself out first, okay?"

The jade haired girl glanced over, sighing. She glanced down at the book about the Creatures of Grimm for a moment before she shut it. "Alright, I'll go to sleep and rest." She yawned, reaching up and running her eyes before she slowly laid down herself.

"Good." She half smiled. "Now... about all this running off. Who exactly are you going to and talking to?"

Sighing, she shook her head and pulled her blankets around herself. "Trust me... it's probably better you don't know."

Groaning a bit, Elise rolled around with a pout. "Fine. Don't tell me then." She went quiet, staring at the wall with a sigh. "Night... Kagami." She muttered. When there was no response, she rolled back over, looking towards her leader. She couldn't help but faintly smile, seeing the jadette already fast asleep.

"This is freaking insane!" Kris shouted at the top of her lungs, rummaging around a large box. Soon enough, a large cloud of dust appeared around her as small things of makeup flying all around. "My foundation is missing!" She screeched.

"Uh..." Blinking with her hair wrapped in a green towel and another green towel wrapped around her body, Else stood with a confused expression. "But... there was one right on the bathroom sink."

"That wasn't my skin tone you idiot!" The redhead barked, flailing her arms at the brunet before diving back into the box.

"She's gone insane." Cheyenne yawned, leaning over a bit to dodge a jar of nail polish.

"Tell me about it..." The young farm girl muttered. "Though, she's always been this way."

"True, true." The Faunus nodded, rubbing her antlers to check for any dirt. "So Kagami is still asleep, huh?"

"Yep." She nodded back, tilting her head up to look at her snoring leader. "She honestly needs it."

"Yeah..." She rubbed her antlers a bit more as she glanced down. "Do you really think she can separate Val from that... monster?" Her brows raised.

"I don't know." The brunet sighed. "I mean, I know whenever she sets her mind to something she does it, but I just don't know. I'm still having a hard time comprehending a Geist inside someone."

"It is pretty freaky." Cheyenne gave a nod. "But you know, there is a lot scarier and a lot freakier Grimm out there too."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Elise gave a nod, stepping back as Kris shot to her feet with a bottle in her hand.

"I found sooome!" The redhead grinned before letting out a sigh of relief. "Now I can go outside once I put it on."

The Faunus blinked a few times, shaking her head as she stepped towards a dresser full of clothes. "You know, you're something special, Kris." She smiled a bit more, reaching in and pulling out clean clothes.

Later that night, after a hard day of training with Captain Caesar and her crew, team MACE stepped into their room with heavy yawns.

"Exhaustion..." Kris muttered, rubbing her eyes before she flung off her sweaty clothes and flopped into her bed. "Goodnight world and all who inhabit it!"

"You know," Cheyenne softly chuckled, stretching out her arms. "You sleep an awful lot for someone our age."

"Sooo...?" The redhead groaned, rolling around. "Is there a problem with liking sleep!"

"Well, technically," The Faunus held out a hand. "Studies show that too much sleep leads to-" She was cut off, grunting as a pillow struck her face.

"How about no." Kris yawned, licking her lips. "I'd rather not have a study lesson at this moment and I very much like sleeping."

She reached up, scratching her antlers with a sigh. "Alright, alright." She stepped towards the bathroom. "I'm claiming the shower!"

"Go ahead!" Elise called back. "I took one this morning."

"And I'm too tired to move..." Kris curled up. After a split second, her body relaxed as she began to snore.

The brunette raised an eyebrow, tilting her head before shaking it. "Okay." She went back to digging through her clothes for clean ones.

As Cheyenne stepped into the bathroom and shut the door, Kagami stretched her arms, glancing over at Elise. "Hey... I'm going to go for a walk okay?"

Elise's eyes perked up as she looked over. "I could tag along so you're not lonely, you know."

"No, it's fine." The jadette shook her head softly, turning on her heels as she stepped towards the door. "I'll be back real quick. Don't worry." She flashed a smile like usual, stepping out.

Staring for a moment, the brunette softly sighed before she stepped into her shoes and slide them on. "Like hell you're going alone. I'm going to at least see where you've been going whether you like it or not."

Up in the roof where the two had planned to meet, Kagami sat on the ledge and kicked her feet back and forth as they hung down. She watched the people and cars below, most of them nothing more than glowing dots. Suddenly, beside her legs appeared another pair in blue jeans and sneakers. "You know," She kept her eyes on the people. "You told me not to use your little power since it would kill me but you're using it all the time just to make really awesome entrances."

"Mirror Eye have a more immediate consequence." Nihilus clarified, sitting down next to her. "I can still use this, but I just won't live a full life."

"Sure." She gave a slow nod, glancing up at him. "Now, before you go and stab me twenty three times in the chest or something." She held up her hands in defense. "I took Maya back home to her family. She deserved to go. And you don't need to worry about her, I swear. Her parents are good people. Trust me. She's happy where she is right now. And I'm sorry I didn't tell you where I was taking her. I knew if she somehow knew, she wouldn't have wanted to go." She faintly smiled. "Okay?"

Raising an eyebrow, the blue-haired young man leaned away some. "Is that so?" He looked away for a moment, watching the sky. "I wouldn't blame her for choosing to stay. The life she had with us clearly wasn't for her."

She slowly nodded a bit more, her hands fiddling together as she stared down at the people below. "Yeah... the life of a criminal just isn't her style." She shook her head, her jade hair falling around her face. "But, the reason why I'm here..." She glanced up, strands of hair in front of her eyes. "I think... I found a way to help Val."

"Really?" He said rather eagerly, leaning in a bit. "How?"

"Firstly... you'll need to know WHAT Valentine is exactly." Kagami gulped some, looking up at him.

"What...do you mean exactly?" His eyes narrowed. "Is there something she hasn't told me?"

She gulped some, biting her lip. She glanced down, rubbing the back of her head. "S-See... she... when she was younger, this woman came up to her and... forced a Geist into her body." Confusion quickly filled her eyes as she looked at the street lights. "Valentine, is a Grimm. A possession type Grimm."

Slouching in silence, Nihilus glanced down at the street below. "I can probably guess who did this to her... A Geist though... But you do have a way to get rid of it, right? How can you?"

"Well, see," The jadette gently rubbed the back of her head. "Well first off, the whole Mirror Eyes thing isn't my semblance." She glanced up. "It's magic. Believe me or not, Kris still denies the existence of magic in my veins and sword, but it's true. Magic is as real as me and you."

With a slow nod, he reached up and rubbed his chin. "I see, that…makes sense."

"That... that's it?" Kagami raised an eyebrow. "Just okay to magic?" She shook her head some, reaching up and rubbing her face. "Nevermind." She looked back up at him, brushing her hair back. "Anyway, since it's magic and not semblance related, I still hadn't manifested my aura into something. So Elise helped me unlock it and Cheyenne helped me shape it power wise. It's basically like..." She leaned back on her hands, staring up at the starry night. "It's kinda like an all powerful rightness seeker. I can stun Grimm and also destroy all falsely made objects or hallucination. Make sense?"

"You mean some sort of...holy ability?" His head tilted to the side. "Like a purification?"

"Kinda." She gave a slow nod. "But trust me," She faintly smirked. "I'm no god. Sure as hell not someone sent by Lord Oum anyway. It's just a little purity thing and it's really helpful. And if what I've been reading is true I might..." She glanced up. "I might be able to pull Valentine out of Val. We'd still have to fight it though and in Grimm form. And Geist aren't very nice. Plus to make it worse it has been inside a human mind for twenty something years. It's... a freak."

"If I believed in any god, I'd call it an abomination." He mumbled. "But are you sure we can do this? Not pulling the Geist out, but fighting it? I've had little experience against them in my training and...Valentine trained me personally."

She faintly smiled, kicking her legs back and forth. "I'm never sure on anything I do. Pretty sure half the fights my team and I win are because of pure luck. Besides..." She smiled a little bit more. "A Geist with human thinking sounds pretty cool to fight. It honestly would be like fighting an abomination of a god. Well, besides the possible dying. And it wanting to kill you extremely once it knows you betrayed it."

He nodded with some more confidence. "As long as Val gets a chance to live her own life without such a burden, I'd gladly give my own life for hers. She's...been like a mother for me for years. As much as I despise humanity...she's responsible for mine."

"Can I... ask you a question?" Kagami asked quietly, looking up at him. "I mean, before we go into a fight that may kill us."

"What is it?" He put his hands on his lap.

"First... you tried to kill my friends and I in the streets, then kidnaped me, fought me at the Vytal festival, nearly killed Captain Caesar, and then pulled me up here up warn me about the dangers of your ability." She glanced up. "Why?"

Nihilus looked away with an uneasy expression. "I... How do I put it in words...?" He shook his head, letting out a sigh. "I suppose it's a...change of heart. Or something in that regard. I'm not exactly good at explaining this."

She blinked a few times, faintly smirking with a soft chuckle. "Okay, word of the wise," She held up a hand. "You're not going to get a date by beating the hell out of a girl."

"I-I'm not trying to..." He groaned and rubbed his face. "Just...don't ask..."

"Okay, okay." She waved her hands a bit. "See, I always pictured you as... not a soldier, but more of a warrior. You protect what's yours and do what must be done to further better your family. Says if someone broke into that restaurant," Kagami pointed down at the busy little place. "You wouldn't stop them. But if your sister was there, he'd be on the floor in a heartbeat."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right. I don't exactly have a code of honor though. It's mostly relying on my instincts instead. Much like how I feel like I could trust you with this..."

"In all fairness," She crossed her arms. "I don't trust you. I just..." She rubbed the back of her head. "I couldn't trust you after everything, but I know you want to help Val as much as I do. It's like if the world is ending in those movies, Kingdoms that hate each other still team up to fight the same cause." She sighed, slowly standing up. "I'm sure you understand what I mean."

His mouth opened up, only for someone else to speak. "I wouldn't trust him at all, even to help Val."

Kagami went stiff, her body tensing as she reached up and grabbed the bridge of her nose. "E-Elise..." The name barely came off her lips as she felt her friend's presence behind her.

"What are you-" Nihlus pulled himself up as Elise aimed her rifle at him.

"Move away from Kagami, now. And don't even try to teleport or-" She blinked, realizing her rifle was somehow in his hands. "What-"

"Okay stop." Kagami pressed her index finger against Elise's lips with narrowed eyes. "You stop." She glared over at Nihilus, pressing her other index finger across his mouth. "And you stop too." She looked forward with a deep sigh. "Both of you stop. At the moment, none of us are enemies."

"You're kidding, right?" Elise glared at Nihilus. "HE kidnapped you!"

"And HE gave me Maya so I could take her home so she could actually be happy." Her eyes locked on her. "I don't understand why you automatically hate these people."

"So I should suddenly trust him?" She pointed at him while keeping her eyes on her leader. "Give me a reason to do just that. No, both US a reason."

"I don't even trust him!" Kagami put both hands on her chest, grinding her teeth together. "Besides! I saved his life! He owes me one if that makes you feel any better!"

"Saved…me?" His brows furrowed. "When was that?"

"Oh, uh, yeah." She rubbed the back of her head, glancing back. "After you passed out at the Vytal festival, a Griffon was about to eat you. So I killed it." She smiled. "Your sister... still wasn't very nice after it though."

"I...see." Nihilus nodded, putting his hands in his pockets after setting Elise's rifle down gently next to him.

"That still doesn't give me a reason to trust him!" Elise tossed her arms out before pointing at her leader. "Jade went back on her word! The BBB still attacked Vale! What good is you saving his life?!"

"Actually..." Nihilus stepped over between them. "I might have a reason for you two to trust me. Something only Val and Thanaton knows about me."

The jadette took a very deep breath, brushing her hair back with a soft cough. "What? It'll have to be something good to calm her down." She eyed her friend who quietly growled back.

"I'll tell you how Thanaton and I were taken from our parents as young children by Valentine and the life we lived after that." His hands sunk deep into his pockets, both girls going quiet.


	54. Brother and Sister

The story of the young man and young woman that team MACE has come to know as the twins started many years ago, more than a decade before the two were even conceived. Like many others, this is a story of two childhood friends who become practically family as they aged and a man who sweeps one of them off their feet. This is a story that intertwines families, friends, and more importantly lives of these four young heroine and their supposed enemies. This is a story of fate.

It all began thirty-one years ago, deep in the underparts of Mistral where crime, drugs, and violence soared and covered the land.

Catching a glimpse of a young girl in a light pink kimono, a group of thugs hid in the shadows, watching her walk past with several school books in her arms.

"She looks just right for the picking." One man said, crouched down low with a cigarette in his mouth. He reached up, grabbing it with his index and middle finger as he blew out smoke. "Whatcha fellas think?"

"Looks sweet enough for me." A blonde male mumbled, his hair braided back in a unique style. "We'll need to make it quick. Someone as nicely dressed as her must be headin' somewhere important."

"Then let's hurry." A third man pushed himself off a wall, standing up straight with his hands in his pockets. Underneath his hood was deadly dark orange eyes. "We need this cash fast. They'll definitely pay a pretty little lien of her. And ya guys can have ya fun."

"Hell yeah." The one smoking stood up, chuckling softly as he flicked the ashes from his cigarette.

"One, two, oh great Baku." The young girl no older than ten sung to herself, skipping across the sidewalk. "Three, four, from great folklore. Five, six, my nightmares fixed. Seven, eight, for they you ate. Nine, ten, now rest I can." She smiled to herself, slowly down as three shadows towered over her own. "Huh...?" Her soft pink eyes dilated as she quickly looked back, holding her books a little tighter.

"Hey there, sweetie." The thug with braids crouched down, his hands on his knees. "Listen, my friends and I are sorta missing out pet cat. You haven't seen one, have ya?"

The girl glared up for a moment, her white hair a mess as she slouched back a bit. "No." She spoke with such an innocent tone.

"Well, can ya help us?" He smiled, holding out his arms a bit. "We'd sure appreciate it."

She blinked softly, tilting her head some before giving a soft smile with a faint giggle. "Daddy has told me about silly people like you."

"Huh?" The man was taken aback, his brows raising. "The hell do-" He stopped himself, slowly looking down at his crotch where the girl's leg had struck. He gave off a heavy grunt, collapsing onto the ground with his hands cupping his manhood. He groaned, rolling his face on the ground. "Ooohhh...! Y-You damn wrench!"

"Hehe." The girl laughed softly, quickly stiffening as the two other men pulled out a set of brass knuckles and a switchblade. "Oh... shoot." She gulped, quickly hugging her books across her chest as tight as she could. She turned on her heels, bolting off as fast as her small feet could carry her.

"Hey! Get back here!" The man smoking spat out his cigarette, spinning his knife around as he ran after her, the hooded man not far behind.

"One, two, oh great Baku..." The girl muttered as she skidded to a stop, turning and running down an alley. "Three, four, from old folklore..." She jumped up, running across an old dumpster before jumping over a fence. "Five, six, my nightmares fixed..." She grunted softly, landing on her feet.

She glanced back, seeing the man with the knife groan, stopping at the fence and hitting it. Smiling faintly, she shot to her feet and continued to run. "Seven, eight, for they you ate..." She rounded another corner, heading towards the main road again. "Nine, ten, now rest... I... can..." She trailed off, gulping as the hooded man with brass knuckles stepped out in front of her. She slowed to a stop, turning around only to freeze at the man with the knife.

"Oh crap." She bit her lip, looking back at the other man as the man she kicked before stumbled up towards his friends and her. "Major crap..." Her arms lowered, her books dropping onto the ground. She held up her fist, gulping.

"Who the hell do ya even think ya are, kid?" Still cupping his crotch, the man narrowed his eyes. "Huh?" He groaned with a grimace on his face.

She gritted her teeth, her eyes narrowing with a gulp. "Someone you should be afraid of. Daddy won't be nice to you."

"Oh no." The man who was smoking twirled his switchblade. "I'm so scared, don't call daddy!" He smirked, slashing with the blade.

The girl's eyes widened as she stepped back, barely even dodging as the tip of the blade barely cut a few hairs on her head. She quickly ducked down, hearing footsteps behind her. With her hands over her head, she looked up, seeing a balled up fist with brass knuckles on it. Her teeth grounded together before she grunted, the man she had kicked kicking her back. She slid across the ground a bit, rubbing her arm.

"Ouch..." She groaned, looking up at the three men who came closer. She quickly lowered her head, shutting her eyes. She could have sworn this would be it, that was until a voice came from above.

"Hey boys!" A dark haired girl shouted from a balcony above. "Hope you know you're in the wrong territory! You should remember your low life thugs, not part of actual mafias!"

"Oh, shut it kid. If you know what's good for you." The man with the knife waved his hand. "Go back inside. Unless you want some trouble."

"Maybe I want some trouble?" She jumped over the railing, climbing herself down before jumping onto a dumpster. She crossed her arms, standing up straight. She smiled. "Ever think of that?" By the looks of it, the dark haired girl was at least three years older than the white haired girl.

The man with the hood snarled, his orange eyes narrowing. "Listen kid, go run back home."

The dark haired girl smirked, jumping down. Her black skirt ruffled around as she landed, standing up straight. Underneath her skirt she had on a pair of long black spats, almost demonic dark blue designs etched into them. "I'll remind you again you're not in your territory, thugs." She said the last word as fowl as she could.

"Well whatcha gonna do about it? Huh?" Rubbing his crotch a bit more, the man with braids crossed his arms and glared. "Huh, punk?" He stepped closer, smirking back. As he did, the young girl in the kimono slowly got up to her hands and feet.

"Well I could always call Papa Bear." The dark haired girl moved her hands behind her back. "Well, he's getting pretty old. Maybe I should go call Big Bear." She started to smile. "I mean, he treats everyone like they are Little Bear to him." She stood up on her tip toes, sticking her hands into her pockets. "You guys really wanna fight someone that badly?"

"Listen here, you little-" The man with the knife stepped up, only to blink as he was suddenly being disarmed by the dark haired girl.

In her now golden eyes, she chuckled, watching the world slow down. With ease, she grabbed his wrist and took the knife away before he had time to bring up his other arm. She jumped back, standing with the knife in her hand next to the younger girl, her eyes fading to blue. "You're going to start a war. I advise you leave." She smirked.

Growling softly, the man in the hood glared. "Come on guys." He shoved his hands into his pockets. "Let's ditch these brats. I'm sure we could find someone else worth a lot more."

"But, boss!" The man with braids complained before his head shot to the side from a sudden punch.

"Quite." The man with hood snapped, taking his brass knuckles off. "Let's go."

The man with the knife sighed, putting it away as he pulled out a cigarette, lighting it. "Damn it..." He groaned, stepping away with the other two men.

After they left, the dark haired girl knelt down next to the white haired girl. "You alright? Nothing hurts does-"

She was cut off, the younger girl shoving her back a bit as she stood. "That was stupid, you know." She glanced up with her arms crossed. "They could have killed us both."

"Uh..." The older girl blinked. "Um, okay, no thank you for saving your life." Her head tilted some.

"Huh?" She glanced up. "No! No no no! It's not that I'm not grateful..." She trailed off, groaning before she quickly bowed. "I apologies. I didn't mean to offend you."

She blinked a bit, chuckling softly as she bowed back. "Don't worry about it." She stepped over, helping pick up the books. "I'm Sakuya by the way. Sakuya Aoigane." She glanced up.

Smiling faintly, the younger girl brushed some of her white hair behind her ear, revealing a small panda shaped charm pinning her hair back. "Cherry White." She smiled.

"White?" Her eyes quickly widened as she stood up. "No... no way. As in the White faintly?"

"Uh, yeah." She rubbed the back of her head with a small laugh. "Always have been part of that family."

"No wonder you weren't afraid of those guys..." Sakuya mumbled. "You've probably seen worse people than them. Any other little kid would have wet their pants."

Cherry gave a small shrug. "I guess. They're just stupid wannabe thugs anyway. Besides, I'm not the crazy one here. You jumped down to help. You know you're a kid too."

"Yeaaah," She shrugged back, handing her the books. "I guess you're right. But I'm not like normal kids."

"No one who grows up in these levels of Mistral are normal kids." She laughed gently with a smile, holding her books tight. "Say, you want to come meet daddy? I bet he would very much appreciate you helping me out."

"Head of the White family. Oh no!" She quickly shook her hands. "Please! I'd rather fight those idiots one on three!"

"Great." Cherry smiled, grabbing Sakuya's wrist. "You'll like him! He's super nice!"

"Wait! I said no!" Her voice fell on deaf ears as she was dragged off, the younger girl taking her straight to her home.

Six years then past, the young Aoigane becoming apart of the White family and getting closer each and every day. One morning, the dark haired girl stepped up to the White family household. "Morning guys." She waved at two large bodyguards at the front door, both dressed in tight fitting black clothes that showed their muscles.

"Sakuya." One stepped back, sliding open the door. "Your hair looks different. Did you dye the tips with blue ink?"

"Yep." She nodded back, stepping inside with a smile. "Did it last night. I think it looks really cool."

"I think it does." The guard holding the door nodded.

"Young Howaito is in her room at the moment." The other man spoke, his voice stern and harsh. "But I believe she's being lectured by her father."

"Oh boy..." She sighed, stepping into the home. At every window and every door, even at each entrance into a different room, a guard much like the ones at the front door stood with hands in front of themselves.

Smiling, Sakuya headed to the steps, passing by a guard whom she patted on the back. "I like the new haircut. It makes you look scarier."

The man smirked a bit, quickly shaking his head and hiding his emotions. Though, he was rather fond of his hair at the moment. The sides had been shaved, the top long and pulled back into a ponytail.

Passing by several other men and walking down a hall, she came up to a door and stopped, peaking in the half opened door. "Is he still in there...?" She asked the buff man standing at the door. He simply nodded back with a small grunt. She groaned in response, slowly sticking her head in.

Inside, a sixteen year old Cherry sat on her bed, her arms tucked into her kimono sleeves. Now with her hair more neatly brushed, her panda hair clip was visible.

"Do you understand, Howaito, sweetie?" A man in his upper forties asked, his body wrapped in a tight suit. Though he wasn't that old, his hair was white. Long and white, his hair was tightly pulled back into a long braid. His chin having short stubbles which he meant to shave earlier but had forgotten.

"You need to be safe and cautious." He repeated, taking a deep breath. "I know the tournament is a sign of peace, but just in case anyone from the Black family decides to try and pull a quick shot... I need you to be careful, Howaito. Please."

"I promise. I promise, daddy." Cherry smiled, standing up. Strands of hair falling across her eyes. "Besides," She tilted her head some. "Sakuya will be there. Plus, mommy predicts there will be a good outcome from this event." Her eyes narrowed a bit. "And you know a White's vision is never wrong."

He gave another soft sigh, shaking his head. "Just be careful, alright?" He glanced back at the door. "And Sakuya!"

Flinching, said young woman slowly slid the door open, stepping inside. "Yes...?" She chuckled a bit.

Rolling his eyes, the lord of the house reached over, ruffling her hair before wrapping his arm around her neck and bringing her into a tight hug. "You know in informed when anyone enters the premises, right?"

Struggling to breathe, she smiled up at him, faintly chuckling. "Yeah... but pretending to sneak up on one of the biggest crime bosses in Mistral is fun."

"You're not an assassin, Sakuya." Cherry smiled, eyeing her father to release her friend. He rolled his eyes, letting her go before the two quickly hugged.

"I bet I would make a better one than you!" She smiled, chuckling back.

Rolling her eyes, the white haired girl smiled and pulled back. "You ready?"

"More than ever." Sakuya smiled. "You'll love the tournament. It's amazing. The fair grounds are cool too!"

"Yeah, yeah." Cherry nodded, heading out. "Later, daddy! Say later to mommy for me too!"

"Sure thing, Little Howaito." He waved her off, watching as she walked out.

"Bye dad!" Sakuya joked, smiling as she stepped out behind her friend.

"Good bye, Sakuya." He chuckled a bit, shaking his head.

Later on that day, as the two childhood friends sat and ate bowls of ramen, they were both unaware of the magic that was soon about to happen.

"You really think that team is going to win?" Cherry raised an eyebrow, slurping down some noodles. Most people would find it disrespectful to make such a sound, but in this kingdom, in this part of Remanent, slurping just showed how much one enjoys their meal.

"Definitely." The dark haired young woman nodded. "They have skills, brains, and strength. That's sorta all that is needed. That plus luck." She smirked.

"You know, I bet you would have made a great Huntress." She leaned forward a bit.

"Really?" Sakuya raised and eyebrow. "Eh, whatever. Being a Huntress was never really my thing."

Sighing back, she brushed her white hair behind her ear. "Doesn't mean you wouldn't be good at it." She sighed. "I don't know why you didn't enroll in Haven two years ago. You would have been accepted for sure."

"It's just not my style though. Being the hero." She rolled her eyes. "I like it more on the sidelines and only stepping in when I really need to." She blinked, sighing as she saw a bald gangster snatch up a woman's bag. "Like right now." She stood up, only to stop at the scene.

Bolting through the crowed, a tall and sturdy soldier dressed in an Atlas uniform locked his eyes on the bald man. "Don't worry ma'am!" He patted the woman's shoulder, passing by her. "I'll handle this!"

His skin was slightly darkened, his frame pressing up against his uniform with each step he took.

Cherry blinked, watching Sakuya's eyes lock with the man. She shook her head, seeing the bald man running in their direction. "Hey," She kicked her friend gently. "Trip him." She smiled.

"H-Huh?" Sakuya shook her head, suddenly realizing the gangster was close. She blinked, her eyes flashing gold. She watched the man run past her in slow motion, smiling as she stuck out her leg. When she pulled it back, he crashed into the ground with a thud.

The man in uniform quickly landing on top of him. "You know, it's crooks like you that give Mistral it's bad name." He pulled him up, taking the purse back and shoving him to a few other soldiers.

"Whoa." Sakuya smiled, sitting down next to her friend. "Did you see that guy. He came out of nowhere and just... he's so fast. He's probably super strong too."

"Aw." Cherry smiled, holding her hands together with a smile. Even she could notice the faint blush across her friends face. "I think you have a crush."

"H-Huh?" Her brow went high. "What do you mean?"

"I mean," She leaned back, crossing her arms. "He's coming over here. And I bet he's going to talk to you."

"What!?" Sakuya's face went extremely red as she felt someone standing beside her.

"Thank you for the assistance, civilian." The soldier said, arms crossed on his chest. "You're quite a quick one."

"I uh..." For once, the strong willed young girl was at a loss for words. "I um... it's more of... being... slow..." Her face grew even more red.

"Oh boy." Cherry sighed, lowering her head some. She stuck her hands on her sleeves, giving a soft smile to the soldier. "She has a really amazing semblance. It allows her to view the world in slow motion for a couple seconds. Maybe a minute if she focuses."

"Really now?" The soldier chuckled a little. "How does everything look when you do that?"

Smirking, the white haired girl leaned back. She knew her friend all too well. This question was all that was needed to spark a conversation.

Sakuya began to grin a little, reaching up and rubbing the back of her head. "Uh-Well... see, time moves the same well sorta." She sighed a bit. "Okay see, time keeps flowing, but I slow it down for myself so I can view it differently. By doing so I think I'm going to live a long life but," She shrugged. "The way everything looks..." She smiled brightly. "It's really cool. Like really cool. Everything turns dim, and all the color just sorta fades, and everything just slows down. I could probably snatch a bullet out of the air if I actually tried. I've never attempted before... but I bet I could." As she started to ramble on and on, Cherry simply smiled, laying her head on the table next to her bowl of ramen.

The soldier smiled and nodded. "I bet everything looks better in slow mo, huh? What's your name?"

"Sakuya Aoigane." She licked her lips, holding her hands together as she gave a small bow. "You?" She glanced back up.

"Sergeant Aquilus, first name's Magentus." He took off his helmet, revealing neatly cut magenta hair. "Enjoying the tournament, I take it?"

She gave a quick nod back. "My friend has never been able to see one before." She motioned in Cherry's direction, the young girl waving back. "I talked her father into letting me take her. He's... very overprotective."

"I see." He placed his helmet aside on the table. "She looks quite noble, at least compared to...most citizens out here. No offence, of course."

She chuckled softly, rubbing the back of her head some more. "Yeah, I'm not the richest I'll admit that." She then smiled, pointing over at her friend. "But her family is amazing where mine isn't. Her father treats me like I'm his own sometimes. It's great."

"Well, my squad and I were heading to break when that just happened." He pointed back towards the direction of the thief.

Sakuya have another faint chuckle, rubbing the back of her head even more as she sunk down. "What do soldiers like you even do on break...?" She bit her lip. "I would think you guys would always be out showing how strong and tough you are... and you know... wooing women over..."

"Well we can still do that even if we're eating." He winked, sitting down while looking at the menu above. "Yeah, a number nine."

Cherry smiled more, watching her friend look away with a deep blush. "Number nine is her favorite." She spoke up. "She loves ramen with a dash of lime and an egg with beef."

"We had a chef from this kingdom." He smiled at them, leaning an arm on the table. "He cooked things like this on base."

"Bet I could cook better than him..." Sakuya but her lip, glancing up. "I mean not to brag, but I'm rather good."

"Really now?" He leaned in. "Willing to prove that to me?"

Before the dark haired woman could speak, her younger friend did with a smile as bright as the sun did. "That depends." She smirked. "What do you want to eat?"

Sakuya blinked once at that, quickly kicking under the table with her face as red as a tomato. "CHERRY!"

Magentus laughed at that, reaching over to put a hand on Sakuya's. "I wouldn't mind anything. Where should we meet?"

"I-I..." She glanced over, biting her lip with a small shrug. "I... I in we could..." She stammered, quickly looking at Cherry for help.

Smiling, she pulled her hands from her sleeves and let them rest at her sides. "My mommy owns a hot spring that has a little place for natural cooking. It's really nice. You can boil water without any Dust. You two could go there if you want."

"So why don't we meet again here tomorrow and you lead us to there?' He asked her then looked at the bluette, patting her hand.

"I-I um..." She gulped again.

Giving a sigh, the white haired girl kicked her friend under the table just a bit. "Say yes you idiot. You know if he rapes you he won't live to see tomorrow."

"Don't say that!" Sakuya quickly flailed her arms. "You'll scare him away!"

"So now you're worried about scaring him away?" She smirked. "You DO really like him. That's cute."

"Cherry!" The blue haired woman snapped, her face red yet again. "I'm going to kill you!"

Laughing some more as he traded some lien for a bowl from a waiter, the purple-haired soldier shook his head. "You two are something else. Maybe when I retire, I'll settle out here."

"R-Really?" Sakuya glanced over with a half smile. "I-I mean not that I don't want you too I just um..." She gulped, taking a deep breath before letting out a huff of air. "When... when you go back to Atlas," She looked up at him, gulping some. "How about you give me a mailing address for you? I'll have a space reserved on Cherry's mailbox for you." She smiled faintly.

"Well that sounds like a plan." He winked while grabbing chopsticks. "I'll be sure to send you any Atlas goodies I can get my hands on. Maybe some trinkets from here in return."

"I could definitely find you some old lien coins. They're buried in the undergrounds of the city. There is probably a bunch in some large bodies of water too." She slowly slid her hands together, holding them tightly on her lap.

He nodded and took a few noodles in his mouth, silently spurring them then licking the flavor from his lips. "We can contact each other on the CCT as well, if you'd like."

At that, she quickly shook her head no. "All this technology we use for communicating... I don't trust it. No offense." She smiled up at him. "I admit Atlas has done an amazing job at creating the CCTs... but I don't trust it. I would never want anything about me being on some hacker's fingertips."

"Understandable." He held up his free hand in defence before taking in more noodles with a piece of beef. After chewing and swallowing, he kept his smile while looking at her. "Old fashioned packages and letters are fine by me."

She smiled some more, glancing up at him before looking down at her own bowl of noodles that was starting to get cold. She quickly reached out, grabbing her chopsticks as she began to eat.

After a moment, Cherry grinned and glanced between the two. "So if you guys ever get married and have children, may I name them?"

Sakuya nearly spat out her noodles, he face going red as she glared up at her with her hands over her mouth to stop the food from falling out.

Ignoring her friend's response, she leaned onto her hands a bit with a smile. "Nihilus of it's a boy and Thanaton if it's a girl. Alright?" She smiled innocently. "Promise. I'm not using my semblance, I didn't get a vision. It's just a feeling. You should name them that. For me."

A year later, after hours of consulting with her parents, Cherry was finally able to convince her parents to allow her to travel to Vale and attend Beacon. And though Sakuya would be left alone, even she seemed ecstatic for her friend. But Cherry didn't need to worry.

The story of the poor girl raised in the dirty side of town was finally finding her knight in shining armor. Magentus and she had been mailing each other nonstop through a special mailing service which was actually trustworthy. It was used for sending messages the military couldn't send by technology.

Sakuya had shelves filled with little gadgets from the top minds in Atlas in her bedroom at the White estate. Her favorite being a small watch which was able to form a glove of the type of Dust inside it. And on the streets of Mistral, if you wave a glove made of electricity around, not many people will want to fight you. Not that anyone wanted to fight Sakuya anyway.

Three years passed since Cherry had left, making it the fourth year since Sakuya and Magentus had met. And this was it. Having visited Sakuya, the soldier from up north took her on a trip up the mountains, something she would remember forever.

"This is so beautiful." The dark haired woman smiled, standing on the edge of a mountain which overlooked a large portion of Mistral. "I would love a house up here. No one would ever come up here. I mean, it's pretty nippy too." She rubbed her arms a bit as a cold breeze blew through. "Why'd you want to bring me up here anyway, Magentus?" She glanced back.

"Because…" He said, taking a step back and going down on one knee, he pulled out a small metal box and opened up to reveal a ring with a tiny dark sapphire on top. "Would you like to live the rest of you days on this mountain as my wife?"

Her dark blue eyes immediately went wide and quickly filled with tears of happiness she bit her lip, pulling him up to his feet and hugging him as tight as she could. "You're absolutely crazy! What if I got to excited and passed out and fell off the mountain!" She held him tighter, not exactly saying yes, but in a way still doing so.

The soldier laughed, twirling her around in his arms before setting her on her feet, looking at a certain spot in a patch grass. Five years have passed as that would be the spot for a simple but humble cabin house. In that very home, a much older Magentus stepped inside a bedroom, seeing his wife sitting on the floor with a dark blue haired boy and a purple haired girl. Both just barely over four years old.

Sakuya gave a small chuckle, watching her son run around in a circle before falling. "Oh come here." She reached out, helping him stand back up. "You need to be more careful, sweetie."

Laughing it off, the four year old Nihilus balanced himself with a smile. "I'm okay! See!" He waved his arms around, making his father laugh by the doorway.

"You say that, then watch when you scrape your knee on a rock." Magentus leaned on the wall with a smile.

"Or when someone pushes him onto rocks." Sakuya slowly glared over at Thanaton with a smile.

The young purple haired demon blinked a few times, calmly sitting down. She stuck out her tongue before reaching out and grabbing Nihilus' hand. She quickly stuck a finger on her mouth, biting down.

"No no no no no! Sweetie!" She quickly reached over, grabbing both her children's wrist. "Come on! He's your brother! Don't hurt him!"

"Ow!" Nihilus stepped back, looking at his finger which was now red. He glared at his sister and picked up an action figure of an Atlas Knight, making it point its gun at her. "I dare you to bite one of these, meanie!"

"Do it! I dare you!" Thanaton glared.

"No no no no no... guys." Sakuya took a deep breath, slowly reaching out and taking the action figure away. "Please guys, be nice for one day? Especially today. Please!" She smiled softly.

"What's so special about today?" Her daughter asked in a rather annoyed tone, looking up at her father.

"It's your mother's and my anniversary." He said, smiling as he stepped closer to them while ruffling their hair. "We've been together for five years now."

"It's also been three years since the one who named you little munchkins..." She trailed off a bit before smiling, reaching over and ruffling her son's hair. "Well, since she moved on." The word's nearly cracked as they came out of her mouth.

"Oh." Nihilus blinked and looked up at his mother while Magentus went to his daughter, neatly doing her hair.

"It's a very special day," He said and held her by the shoulders, "especially for your mother."

"It's a strange day. It's good but it's also bad..." She sighed some, letting her hands rest in her lap. "She saw you guys when you were no more than one year old. She loved you guys. I was going to make her your godmother but then..." She lowered her head, only to blink and look up as a small blue blur quickly hugged her.

"Don't cry, mommy..." Nihilus mumbled, holding his mother tight. "It's okay... She's somewhere happier, like you said..."

She blinked slowly, sniffing as she wrapped her arms around him and held him tight. "Don't worry, Nill... I won't. I got you. You're my big strong boy."

Magentus stared at them then glanced down at his daughter before picking her up in his arms. "What do you say you help daddy make supper for your mom and brother?"

"Can I eat the raw cookie dough?" She smiled, kicking her legs a bit. "Mommy won't let me. She says it's unhealthy."

"Not with eggs in it." He said while walking out of the room. "How 'bout you help me bake and I'll make some dough without eggs just for you?"

"Yeee!" She bounced around, before jumping on top of the kitchen counter. "I can't wait!" She kicked her legs back and forth, smiling like the child she was.

Later that night, after the two young twins had fallen asleep, Sakuya was laying in her bed, repeatedly rubbing her eyes with the palms of her hands. "I honestly never know how to feel about today anymore..."

"I understand what you mean." Magentus said while laying on his side facing her. "There's men I've grown up with at the Academy that I never got to see again..." He sighed and reached up to rub her hand gently. "Hard to think about anyone like that. Ever."

"I just wish I could have been there for her. For her family. They were their for me nearly half my life. And..." She sighed and rolled over, looking at him. "And now I don't even know where her body is."

He nodded, his hand cupping her cheek. "I know, dear. I know. They mean everything to you, just like our kids. Anything we could do for her family? I'll do whatever, you name it."

"Only those in the Black family survived that night." She sighed, curling up next to him until her head was on his chest. "They ran off in a little bandit group now."

"Damn..." He mumbled and ran his fingers through her hair. He closed his eyes slowly, about to drift off when he began to sniff the air. "Flames...?"

"Flames?" Sakuya's head perked up, her eyes wide as she saw a glow in the distance. "Nill! Thanaton!" She jumped up, ignoring the fact she was in her pajamas and ran to her children's room.

Following her with his rifle, he barged into the room to catch a slim figure at the small beds. "Hey! Stop right there!"

The figure calmly glanced back before looking away.

"You better listen!" Sakuya snapped, her dark blue eyes narrowing.

"And if you want to live you'd step away now." The figure glanced back, eyes flashing gold even in the darkness.

Gritting his teeth, Magentus held up his rifle and went to squeeze the trigger. Just as he fired, an arrow pierced his thigh, making him fire into the roof as he hunched over. "Dammit!"

"Shit." His wife looked up, blinking as her eyes went gold. With the figure now slowly notching a new arrow, she ran forward as fast as she could, scooping up Nihilus and Thanaton. As she started to run back out, the figure began to pull back on the arrow. Her jaw clenched as she held her children in one arm, grabbing Magentus with her other and dragging him out.

As time flowed forward quickly again, the arrow shot struck the ground where the man had been. Blinking slowly, the wicked witch known as Valentine stepped from the shadows, eyes narrowed as she tightened the grip on her bow. Her age bore more than eighteen at the time. "She wants new apprentices. And I'm going to get them." She muttered to herself.

"She's a fast shot..." Magentus grumbled, rushing out of the house while staggering on his wounded leg.

Stirring in his mother's arms, the sleepy Nihilus slowly looked up with blurred eyes, "M-Mom...mmy...?"

"Shhh," She patted the back of his head, glancing back at their small home which was starting to catch ablaze. "Everything's fine. Mommy's got you. Don't worry."

"What's..." He rubbed both of his matching azure eyes with his hands and blinked. Pointing forward, he yelled. "MOMMY!"

Sakuya quickly stopped, her eyes darting upward. The dark figure from the room standing in the light of the moon. Her pink hair graciously flowing in the wind.

"I'm not sorry about this." She smiled wickedly, notching four arrows on her bow.

"Shit." Her eyes widened, watching them launch. She quickly activated her semblance, letting the world dim from color. She set her children down, rushing forward as she knocked down an arrow headed towards her husband. Quickly jumping back, she grabbed two arrows and tossed them to the side which were a meter from her children's shoulders. But the fourth arrow, even with time slowed, it came too fast.

Sakuya grunted, her eyes widening as the world regained color. She stumbled back, blood dripping onto the mountain grounds before she looked up at the shooter who smiled back at her. She blinked once, her body falling backwards as the world once again lost all color and faded to darkness.

What followed were the brutal years of training for the twins. Everything they knew with morality were lies. Their new purpose was to serve their higher ups without question and to kill whoever they were told was a threat to the ones they were then raised by.

Falling to his knees with a practice sword, twelve year old Nihilus panted heavily, glancing up at the twirling bow-staff that knocked him down many times. "Not...gonna lose..." He muttered despite his heavy breathing.

"Then get up." Valentine demanded, holding the staff still for a moment as her eyes narrowed down at him. "Even Maya and Thanaton were able to land at least one blow on me."

Breathing in slowly, the shaggy-haired boy groaned and narrowed his eyes, which changed from azure to gold the moment he yelled then somehow stood on top of the pinkette, his blade at her throat.

She blinked slowly, raising an eyebrow at the boy. In an instant, she grabbed his practice sword, jerking it out of his hand as she narrowed her eyes at him, nearly about to strike him with his own weapon. "How did you do that?"

Blinking very slowly, Nihilus backed up off of her while looking around. "I...I don't know... S-Salem says...I have something special...but there's nothing special about humans..."

With lightning speed, both wooden weapons fell to the floor as the pinkette snatched him up by the throat. "We don't say Her name. Remember that. You never know who is watching." After a moment, she set him back down, crossing her arms. "What type of powers?" She demanded.

"I have no idea!" He backed away from her, fear in his eyes. "I-It looked like...you froze...and lost all color...s-so I just attacked you..."

She took a deep breath, rubbing her forehead in aggravation. "Get in a human body She said. It'll be fun She said." She mumbled to herself before sighing. "Alright, fine." She waved the young boy off. "Tell that twin of yours it's her turn next. And I want you to figure out this power or semblance you have quickly. Understood?"

"Y-Yes, ma'am!" He quickly nodded, turning to run out of the room. Heading over to his sister who was juggling rocks, he gulped and put his hands in his pants pockets. "Uh, Thana? Valentine says it's your turn..."

The purple haired girl sighed, catching each rock as she looked over at a nine year old Maya. "I'll show you how I can make them explode later." She sloppily stood up, grunting softly as she walked into the room where Valentine was.

Watching her leave, Nihilus looked over at Maya and sat down, rubbing the back of his neck. "S-So, I have a new power or something..."

"Hm?" She glanced up at him, her hands fidgeting together as her eyebrows raised. "Like semblance wise?" She reached up, pulling a light blue beanie over her head even tighter.

"I guess." He shrugged, looking at his hands. "It looked like I made her freeze. But there wasn't like any ice or anything."

"Time stopping maybe?" She glanced down at the floor. "Before... before mother shot Mr. Gron a while back, he used to talk about there are all kinds of semblances out there. Even time stopping ones."

Silently taking this in, Nihilus tilted his head while looking at her. "Did I...stop time? How's that possible? Time's just...there... It's beyond us."

She gave a small shrug. "I don't know. Technically time isn't even real. It's a figment of human imagination. Yet we say it can do so many things." She glanced up at him. "Maybe it's more of breaking into the fourth dimension and messing around with the third dimension while there. Or... or we could just say it's magic." She smiled a bit then shrugged again, her smile fading.

"No, no, no, no..." He waved his hands around. "Time and space is all different. It's beyond what humans can control. I can't just stop time unless I'm tampering with reality! And it can't be magic. That's...different..." He shook his head and stood up. "I need to figure this out before Valentine gets mad at me..."

"Yeah... mother is pretty aggressive when she gets angry." She moved her arm around, looking at the hand shaped bruises on it. "But at least we'll get to change the world one day."

"For the better.." Nihilus mumbled, walking away. The young twins, taken from their loving parents would be twisted into ruthless killers with immoral views on humanity. Would it not be for Val fighting back for her body, the azure-eyed man would forever remain a nihilist. In some ways, the twins lived up to the names given to them by Cherry so many years ago. Life is meaningless and there is only death. Though they were not hopeless. Especially up towards now.

In the present, Nihilus was sitting on the edge of the roof, facing the two girls that sat across from him as he held himself up from falling. "I think that's about it... At least all that mattered I guess."

"Oh for the love of Oum..." Kagami reached up, groaning as she rubbed her sleepy eyes. "Every bloody damn thing just got a million times more complicated..."

Elise sat silently, looking down then back at Nihilus. "Have...you thought about...seeing your parents again?"

The young man just shrugged, not really having any emotion about it. "Thana and I never talked about it much. Guess we never bothered."

Feeling her teammate's look, the jade haired girl glanced over at the young farm girl next to her who was smiling. She took a deep breath, rubbing her eyes more. "Great. Now we're going to take a trip to Mistral! Do you know how long it will take for us to get to Mistral in a time like this?"

"That's not important though." Nihilus stood up. "We've got Val to save. Now you've heard my little sob story, do you at all trust me or was that just for nothing?"

While Kagami took a deep breath, she slowly nodded, sticking her hands in her pockets. "I do... at least until you pull something that makes me not want to trust you." She glanced over at her teammate.

Standing there, Elise was staring at her feet, blinking slowly with crossed arms. She licked her lips a bit, letting out a sigh as she shut her eyes.

"Well?" Her leader raised an eyebrow.

Sighing once again, the brunette slowly lifted her head up and narrowed her eyes at the Aquilus man. Slowly, she stepped forward with her finger out. "If you ever harm Kagami in any way again, if you harm anyone I care about, I'm blowing your kneecap out with an explosive Dust dart."

"So it was a pointless storytime..." He mumbled under his breath, holding up his hands in front of him. "I have no intention of harming anyone. All I want is Val safe."

She sighed, crossing her arms again as she looked away and across the dimly lit city. "Then... I guess I trust you enough to help you save the one person who kept even the slimmest part of humanity in you."

"I guess that's enough..." His eyes rolled as his hands went into his pockets, mirroring the way his mother would. "We'll come up with a plan. Maybe next time. Also..." He pointed at Kagami. "You're paler than usual."

Groaning, the jadette turned around on her heels and started to walk to the edge of the building to climb down. "I'm fine! I'm just working double overtime at the moment!" She held up her arm, coughing into it. "I'll rest once we save Val."

Sighing, Elise shook her head and looked up at the blue haired young man. "She has a nasty cut on her upper arm from fighting this bandit from the Bad Blood Bandits. Pretty sure it's getting infected but she won't let me look at it."

"Well, if she decides to stop being stubborn," Nihilus tilted his head, taking a step back, "I'll brew up this venison and vegetable stew. Helped Thana fight her sicknesses before."

She gave a slow nod, the corner of her mouth slightly peeking up as she stuck her hands in the pockets of Kagami's hoodie which she still had on. "I might take you up on that offer. Maybe some for myself too."

He nodded back, stepping up on the edge of the roof. "Speaking of the Triple B, I heard some recent activity relating to them from Valentine. Gotta check that out before I'm somehow missed." With that, he jumped back and vanished into thin air.

Once he was gone, she began to walk near the edge with a sigh, tossing her arms up. "Sure, just have his mother be Sakuya. Just make everyone related why don't you." She glanced up at the sky, watching the flickering stars. "You're crazy Lord Oum. You really are." She faintly smiled, climbing down from the rooftop.

Looking up at the same stars but with the sky slightly lighter in color on the continent of Mistral, high up in the mountains, a figure sat on the edge next to a slightly charred and burnt house that had been fixed up over the years. Wearing a blue and black kimono, a woman with long dark blue hair watched over the fair kingdom, a black cloak over her shoulders blowing in the wind like her hair. In her hands, a cup of tea with steam rolling off of it was held so carefully. To her right was a gravestone, marking the only adult male to ever live up here with her.

Taking a deep breath, Sakuya opened her eyes, looking up at the broken moon before lowering her head and taking a sip of her tea. The strangest part, in the past twenty-one years, she seemed to have only aged a few years. A gift or a curse, the powers over time always leaves a toll on all those who gain it from their bloodline.


	55. Validation

"You're... saying we're going to help them? Or have them help us?" Thanaton asked, spreading peanut butter into two slices of bread at a table. "Wait, wait no," She shook her head some. "More so, there's a... Geist possessing you, Val? And how can we even trust those four?" The purple haired young woman looked around at her brother and woman who raised her with raised eyebrows.

"It's true, I just... I didn't know exactly how to tell either of you." Val gulped, her blue eyes sparkling in the light. "I had now clue how either of you would react. If you ran, she'd take over and kill you." She gulped, slowly pushing some of her pink hair behind her ear. "And I... I didn't want to kill... I didn't want to let her kill more than she already does." She slowly glanced up, biting her lip.

"It's not like either of us had anywhere to go." She mumbled back, spreading out some grape jelly into one of the prices of bread which already had peanut butter on it.

A moment of silence fell before the pinkette took a very deep and shaky breath, her hands fiddling together. "But in regards to trusting them enough to help... I do. Kagami... she's not like other people."

"No she isn't." Nihilus spoke up, leaning against the side of a wall next to a few cabinets. "But Thana, if she even has the slightest chance of splitting Val and Valentine, we at least need to try."

The purple haired young woman stared back, putting the other piece of bread with peanut butter on it over the one with jelly and peanut butter. She took a deep breath, glancing between the two in front of her before grabbing the jar of peanut butter and putting the lid on top. Val was the sole reason for his humanity, or at least the little bit there. Actually, she was the only reason the two actually cared for anything. And to have her freed from the monster who ruined their lives...

"Okay, say I'm on board." Thanaton leaned over the table a bit. "How exactly does this girl's semblance work?"

Nihilus paused, scratching the back of his head before sighing. "It's kinda like an anti-Grimm thing?" His right brow raised. "She believes she could stun Valentine and pull her out, separating the two."

"And then?" His sister tossed the peanut butter jar to him.

As he caught it, he sighed while shaking his head. "One hell of a fight." The corner of his mouth just barely peeked up into a smirk as he twirled the jar of peanut butter. As he did so, the lid flew straight off. He blinked once, catching the jar perfectly.

As Val softly giggled with her hand over her mouth, Thanaton chuckled with a wicked smirk. "Whoops. Guess I forgot to tighten it."

He groaned a bit, narrowing his eyes over at her. "Kinda like how you forgot to tell me that after I passed out during the attack on Vale I nearly died and Kagami saved my life?"

Blinking once, she slowly picked up her sandwich while staring back at him. "Yeah uuummm…" She looked around rapidly before skipping down the hall of the abandoned house. "Later bro!"

He sighed, rolling his eyes as he reached down to pick up the lid. "Damn girl..." He muttered.

Val giggled a bit more, it slowly trailing off as she looked up at Nihilus. "Do you... actually think Kagami would be able to separate the two of us? And do you guys think you could kill Valentine once she's out...?"

Giving a soft smile, he stepped up and gently placed a hand on her shoulder with a nod. "I know I'll die trying." He gave another reassuring nod. "Promise."

"Oh hell fu-" Kris started to speak as hardly as she could, arms crossed as Cheyenne moved a chair over, creating a large enough noise to block out the redhead's voice for a second. "-ing no." She glared back at her teammates. "There is no way in Oum's name I would ever!"

Kagami took a deep breath, sitting on a bed as he slowly ran her fingers through her hair. "Kris... come on. We could really need you. That Geist needs to be stopped."

"So?" She tossed her arms are, looking around with her mouth open a bit. "Have we not forgotten what those idiots have done to us! Bad enough we didn't even take Maya to the authorities... but now you're conspiring with the bad guys?"

"Who said they were the bad guys?" Elise quickly added, sitting on a top bed with her legs kicking. "You've heard what they've gone through. They're misguided. Not necessarily evil."

Kris shook her head, gesturing her arm to her whole team. "We've each been beaten to a bloody pulp because of them! Why would we help them?!"

"Because they need it." Cheyenne spoke up, sitting down in the chair she moved. "You forget I was living under what is basically a cult for a couple years. It's not like you have a choice. It's like brainwashing. You're programmed in a way."

"So you're siding with them?!" The redhead's eyes widened.

"Yes." The Faunus gave a nod. "Yes I think we should help Val. Isn't that a Huntress' job anyway? To help those who need it?"

"They tried to kill us!" Kris snapped, her breathing becoming heavier as she pointed towards the door. "They have killed countless! And we're not even Huntresses!"

"For the love of Oum..." Elise jumped down from the bed, stepping towards the younger girl. "What's your problem? I don't like it as much as you, but none of them were raised correctly."

Gritting her teeth, she glanced between her three teammates before turning on her heels. She threw her hands up, stomping towards the door. "Ridiculous!" She shouted, slamming it shut behind her as she stepped in.

Elise blinked once, jerking her arms outward. "What the hell, Kris?!" She snapped.

Cheyenne went to stand, only to stop as as Kagami stood up with a hand on the Faunus' shoulder. "Don't worry." She flashed a smile, brushing back her hair. "I'll talk to her and see what's up."

While she stepped towards the bathroom, the Faunus slowly looked over at Elise. "Is she okay? She looks paler than usual. Actually she looks kinda sick..."

"She probably is." The young farm girl sighed. "She's stressed out and not sleeping and sick." She shook her head, sitting down on a lower bed. "She's overworking herself."

In the bathroom, Kris splashed some water on her face only to groan as she heard the door open and shut softly. "What?" She grumbled.

"You need to explain what your problem is, alright?" Kagami asked calmly, leaning up against the door.

Growling a bit, she splashed more water on her face. "There's nothing to talk about. We're suppose to be heroes, not helping criminals."

"We are suppose to help those in need." She correct.

"Help people who have nearly killed us?" She shot back. "Beaten and kidnapped is?" She turned to look up at her, water dripping from her choppy red hair. "Actually killed Fid and Fif and countless others? Help THEM?"

Kagami gulped some, slowly glancing down. "You've heard what they been through. They're not different than Chey or Maya. They were mislead."

"Well they became monsters." Kris grumbled.

"So let's take the monster out of one of them." She gritted her teeth. "You haven't met Val. She's nothing like Valentine."

"I know they hurt people either way!" The redhead put a foot down. "People like you three! People like me!" Her breathing grew heavier.

Blinking slowly, the jadette let her crossed arms fall. "What do you-" Before she could finish, the younger girl caught her off.

"They did this!" Kris pushed her long trench coat back, pulling up her shirt just a bit. On her stomach were three punctured scars from the time Eri had stabbed her during the Fall of Beacon. "They did this..." She slid her shirt back down. "And there's three more on my back. They did this! And no one can fix it!" She started to tremble a bit, chewing on her lip. "And you expect me to help them?"

"Kris, I-" She started before being cut off again.

"Kris what?! Are you going to tell me you understand?! What the hell do you know about scars?!" The second the words escaped her mouth, the redhead immediately regretted it. She took a small step back, her eyes widening a bit. "K-Kagami I didn't mean..."

Taking a deep breath, the jadette stared at the floor for a moment before glancing up with a faint smile. "It's fine." She smiled just a bit more, taking a step forward. "But you know, if it's one thing I've learned from becoming friends with you and Chey and Elise, it's that I can't let any of those scars hold me back." She reached out, putting a hand on her shoulder with a smile and a nod. "I can't allow what happened in the past to hold me back any longer. If I was, I'd still be too edgy and not wanting to talk to anyone. And that would be awful character development." She smirked.

Kris blinked slowly, gulping some as she stared up at her leader. "But they won't go away..."

"They never do." She brought her arm down with a kind smile. "You learn to live with them and grow from them."

"But they did-" The redhead was cut off by a finger over her lips.

"They didn't. Only one person did. And I don't even know where that blonde she devil is." Kagami pulled her hand back. "Now please, those three need help. Or are you going to let something that happened months ago stop you from helping someone who really needs it?"

"I..." Kris trailed off, gulping some. "I don't..." She looked down before sighing. "How the hell are we even suppose to fight a Grimm that has a human mindset?"

"I dunno." The jadette smiled with a shrug. "I really have no clue." She chuckled.

"Of course you don't." She rolled her eyes, faintly smiling as she crossed her arms.

The next morning, after the two groups had gotten their fair shares of rest, team MACE walked up with their weapons locked and loaded towards the group of criminals.

"So this is the place we're going to do it?" Kagami asked, looking around the the empty out area of the Emerald Forest.

"Farthest clearing from the main city." Nihilus said with a nod. He glanced at Val, taking a deep breath. "You ready for this?"

With her heart racing, the pinkette gave a nod. Inside, her heart pounding in her ears as she took a shaky breath. "As... ready as I could ever be." She smiled. "I've wanted Valentine out for a long time."

"Alright then." He nodded back, taking a deep breath.

"Well let's do this." Thanaton smiled, juggling a pair of rocks around in one hand. "I want to fight this monster and finally win."

"Hopefully win..." Val muttered, stepping towards team MACE. "So?" She smiled gently down at Kagami. "Can you really...?"

"I'll do my best." Kagami smiled up. She glanced back at her teammates. "Y'all ready for this?"

"Got more darts than I can even carry." Elise smiled, patting her pockets as she cocked her air compressed rifle.

Cheyenne faintly smiled, giving a gentle nod. "Never felt more alive." Confidence gleamed in her eyes as she held up her weapon.

"Ready to kick some butt." Kris twirled her candy cane weapons before holding them like tonfas.

"Alright." Kagami looked up at Val, her eyes locking with the soft blue ones. "Now are you ready?"

Giving a slow nod, the older woman gulped. "Yes..."

"Okay then." She slowly lifted her left hand, placing it on her chest as it began to glow. The faint green fabric wrapping around her arm blowing off and shredding before falling to the ground.

Val gave off a small scream, one which made Nihilus tense and step forward. She tossed her head back, jerking her head around with stiff movements before head shot forward, her golden eyes glaring in anger with a snarl.

"Hell..." Elise tensed, gritting her teeth as she raised her gun.

"Hold off!" Kagami snapped, grimacing as she the woman before her took hold of her shoulders and gripped them right. She narrowed her eyes into the wicked golden ones, giving off a scream as the glow from her hand and arm grew stronger.

"You have no idea who you are messing with, girl!" Valentine roared, a hint of panic in her voice. "I'll kill you! Every one of you!"

Grinding her teeth together, the jadette brought her right hand up, grabbing her shoulder right to hold her in place. "I don't give a damn!" Her aura began to glow extremely bright, a green tint all across her body.

Valentine streaked again, jerking her head a bit as her hands tightened on her shoulders. "You wrench!" She shouted.

"And you witch!" Kagami shot back, sweat dripping down the side of her face as the pupils of her tea green eyes shrunk. When they began to grow larger again, they expanded into the symbol on the back of her hoodie, the seal of the Monomane Clan. "Not get the hell out of this body! It isn't yours!" She cried out, a swarm of light engulfing the two.

"Shit..." Thanaton shot to her feet, eyes wide as she gripped the stones in her hands.

Nihilus yelled, taking a step forward as the light began to dim.

"Oh hell!" Elise ran forward a bit, skidding to a stop which kicked up dust.

With Val on her knees, Kagami helped her stand with heavy breathing. She slowly looked up, seeing what could only be described as an Alpha Geist.

"Holy... fu-" Kagami's eyes widened, her voice being cut off by the monster's screeches. "-ing... shi-!" She was cut off by another screech, quickly pulling Val to her feet as they scrambled back.

"Oh hell, she's pissed." Cheyenne mumbled quietly while she quickly stepped towards the two, Elise and Kris following behind.

"Yeah, she gets pissed a lot." Thanaton muttered, gulping as she stepped over with her brother. "Especially when things don't go her way."

"Guess you're not bailing." Kagami flashed a smile over at Nihilus, breathing heavy as she drew her sword.

"You kept your end of the deal, now I'll keep mine." He pulled his katana handle out, pushing in a blue dust crystal to the hilt as an ice blade formed.

"Then let's hope none of us die. Or that thing gets away." Cheyenne gulped, raising her Atlas rifle up behind Nihilus.

Behind Kagami, Elise flashed a faint smile as she held up her own gun. "I'll have my dad buy us all whisky if we win."

"You know," Thanaton smirked, picking up two large stones in her hands behind Cheyenne. "Were both twenty-one. We can get our own." She wiggles her eyebrows.

Kris rolled her eyes, holding her weapons like tonfa she behind Elise. "If any of you drink, I'll kill you myself." She grumbled, eyes narrowing at the Geist.

With the six in a v shape, Val gulped while standing in between them. "It... this will be like fighting a god. A Grimm who's been in the mind of a human." She gulped again.

"Then may Lord Oum and Dark Oum have mercy on our souls..." Elise trailed off with a gulp.

Nihilus raised an eyebrow, looking back at her.

The brunet blinked once, tilting her head before she half pouted. "Atheist."

He stared back at her in silence for a moment before smirking as he looked away.

"Alright guys. Enough talking." Kagami gripped her sword with both hands, glaring up at the Alpha Geist flying above which let out a deadly cry. "Let's do this." As the creature of darkness let out another roar, the sun above began to shine down on the forest below, casting down over the group of seven people.


	56. Battle Of The Geist

An Alpha Geist is unlike any creature of darkness. It is rawr, terrifying, and horrific. It is no doubt deadly in any form it is in. With its mask thickness doubled, the weak point on its body isn't so weak anymore. Even so, the mask was cracked and glowing red in each marking. The singular eye itself even had a glowing trail of red and yellow trailing behind.

It's ghostly bone like arms are gnarled and mangled, the right one nearly two feet longer than the left. The hands are huge, just as large as its head if not bigger. And the deadly white claws on the tips of its fingers are at least ten centimeters in length.

On its shoulders which were torn apart like clothing with holes, there were endless spikes ranging from small to large sticking out, trailing down its arms before disappearing at the elbows.

Down the Alpha Geist spine is a row of spikes as well. The tips glimmering in the lights from how incredibly sharp they are. Even without possessing, if the spikes on its back hit a tree, it would become one with the deadly beast.

Long skinny spikes came out from both sides of the creature, poking out and twisting around its gnarled body like ribs which protected its ghostly form from any kind of harm.

Its lower half dissipates into nothingness, no legs or anything as a black mist over takes the Alpha Geist. The same black mist which follows behind the creature with each movement of its limbs. The only thing that makes it even more terrifying is the bloody curdling screeching cry it gives off before attacking. And with years of experience, this monster is a professional at fighting.

Giving off a battle cry, Kris hurled herself through the air like a bullet. With her bladed candy cane weapons out, she spun around like a tornado in an attempt to strike the Alpha Geist before it had time to possess anything. Though her attack was for naught. The creature of darkness spun around itself, its right arm twirling like a rock on a rope.

It backhanded the young redhead, sending her through several branches and leaves into the ground. She grunted, shaking her head as she pushed herself up to her feet. "Damn..." She muttered, reaching down and picking up her red fedora as she placed it back on her head.

"I can't hit its eye!" Elise shouted, running while shooting up at the ghostly Grimm. She reloaded her air compressed rifle, taking aim once again at the glowing demonic eye. She fired, only to hiss as the black beast backhanded the dart away with its left hand.

She cursed at herself silently, holding her weapon by the back and the barrel as she slid underneath a fallen over tree which had fell over a ditch. Above, Thanaton jumped on top of the piece of wood, a wicked look in her purple eyes as her dark hair flew all around.

"Is that all you can do?!" She shouted up to the monster who had ruthlessly raised her while juggling several small stones. She pushed herself off the tree, jumping up and pushing off another that was upright.

As the dark haired young woman flew through the air, the Alpha Geist above turned in her direction. It screeched deeply, its single eye seeming to glare. It tossed out its arms, screeching louder as it tossed its head back.

"Just like old times, I say!" Thanaton snapped, chucking the several stones that she was holding at the creature of darkness. Each began to slowly flash a dark shade of purple before it began to speed up.

As she landed on her hands and knees, the Grimm above lashed out at the stones, only managing to shove a few aside before they exploded. As the did, it hissed, floating backwards as smoke wrapped around it.

It then roared, flying forward as a bright blue flash struck its back, causing ice to form over its fearsome spinal spikes.

"Bullseye." Cheyenne smiled to herself, changing the setting on her Atlas' rifle from ice Dust and back to normal. She was sitting in the treetops, her back resting against the trunk as she held her weapon steadily. Her eyes soon widened at the ghostly monster heading towards her.

"Shoot!" She shot to her feet, running across the branch before jumping down onto another on. She softly grunted, stumbling a bit as a demonic feel came from the tree and began to uproot.

"Oh man!" She swung her weapon over her back, jumping from branch to branch as she tried to get lower to the ground. Though, with the tree being pulled upward, there was little to no progress.

Suddenly, the deer Faunus found herself on her feet on the ground. She panted softly, looking over to see Nihilus whose eyes faded from their golden tint to a dark blue.

"You should be more careful." He muttered, though not a hint of worry or concern was in his voice and a blank stare was on his face. He glanced up, twirling his ice katana around while looking at the uprooted tree trunk which was now frozen into the ground.

Screeching, the Alpha Geist jerked its body around, its right limb possessing the tree below. It thrashed as much as it could, the ice simply cracking rather than shattering like glass. It cried out louder, its eye glowing in hatred and anger.

"If there is one thing I've learned from reading up on you," Kagami shouted from behind the beast, her sword high and raised above her head. As she fell through the air, she brought her sword down across the tree trunk. "It's not to let you possess anything!"

As the wood splintered and fell in half, the jade haired girl landed on her feet, tucking and rolling ahead as the tree collapsed onto the ground too close for comfort. She quickly stood back up, twirling her blade into a reverse grip.

Above, the Grimm cried out in a battle tone, its head leaning back as its limbs flailed. Without so much as a second to spare, it suddenly shot straight into the ground, its body going through and disappearing.

"What the?" Kris blinked rapidly, glancing around with wide eyes. "Hold on. Where did it go?" She looked over at her leader. "Is... that it?"

Blinking slowly, Kagami gritted her teeth while narrowing her eyes. "No..."

"This is just the beginning." Val muttered to herself, gulping some as she and Elise stepped out of the ditch underneath the fallen tree. "It is about to get a lot harder. So much harder..." She gulped, pulling the bow across her back to her front. She stared at it, clutching it tight.

Elise glanced up at the pink haired woman. She... really wasn't the same person who had beaten Kagami and herself. Those light blue eyes were filled with fear and pain. They were not the ruthless and sadistic gold she remembered. She WAS a completely different person.

"Hey," The brunet gulped some, raising a hand and gently putting it on the woman's shoulder. "It'll be alright. You shouldn't worry. I'm sure Kagami already has a plan. We'll win for sure. Right, Kagami?" She smiled shakily over at the jadette.

"Um..." The leader of team MACE gulped. "I uh, if I say yes, will that make you feel better?" She flashed a soft smile before chuckling.

"Oh hell... we're all going to die. Wonderful." Thanaton rolled her eyes, taking a deep breath with a heavy sigh. "Just wonderful."

"You do have a plan, don't you?" Nihilus glanced over at Kagami with an eyebrow raised ever so slightly.

"Besides fight and stay alive," The jade haired girl shook her head. "Nope."

He blinked slowly, taking a deep breath. "Well, if that is all we got." He twirled his katana, the ice blade disappearing as he placed a red Dust crystal in the handle. A second later, a red hot blade shot out. "Let's do that." He glanced back at Val before looking over at the jadette next to him with a smirk.

Kagami eyed him, smiling a bit back. What are you looking at?"

"Huh?" He blinked, quickly looking away and at the ground where the Alpha Geist had disappeared. "Nothing."

Kris blinked slowly, leaning over onto Cheyenne a bit. "Can I ship them too?" She smiled innocently.

The deer Faunus sighed, shaking her head as she reached up and grabbed the bridge of her nose. "Christmas, you can't just-" She was cut off, the ground trembling underneath their feet.

As the ground shook, it began to crack and fall apart until finally the ground where the Grimm had disappeared began to swell up. It it grew to enormous proportions, well over thirty meters high, before it burst. Rocks, dirt, and pieces of wood flew outward, a huge shockwave pushing the group back several feet.

"Holy mother of Oum..." Kagami's eyes widened as she looked up at the wicked and demonic creature before her. "That's... oh hell." She groaned, her shoulders dropping.

"Oh, yeah, we are definitely screwed." Kris muttered quietly to herself.

Standing up from the large mound, an Alpha Nadur Gigas rose to its feet, twice as high as the mound it was hiding in. This one though, this one was unlike any other. It was made of dirt and rocks, with roots from the trees. Even bedrock was twisted within this Alpha creature. That still was not it though. Rather than having two arms, this possession had six, each with roots, vines, and branches for fingers. And unlike other Gigas forms, this monstrosity had four legs with heavy stones for feet.

"Yeah... we're all going to die." Thanaton blinked rapidly, her arms hanging low. "We're all dead."

"Can't you be positive for five minutes?!" Elise snapped, glaring over at her with arms flailing.

"You got a problem with my dark nature?!" The purpled haired young woman glared over, her hand up and twitching as a dark aura sprang up around her body.

"I have a problem with your attitude! You're worse than Kris!" The brunet snapped.

"What's that suppose to mean?" Said redhead snapped back, glaring over at the young farm girl.

"You're always so dark and depressing! That's what I mean!" She shot back with a glare.

"We are honestly about to go into a death match... and you are arguing?" Val slowly raised and eyebrow in utter confusion.

"Yeah... this happens a lot." Cheyenne muttered with a sigh.

Kagami took a deep breath, looking up at the beast before gulping as she eyed those around her. She stopped on Nihilus, who for once, had emotions scattering throughout his eyes and face. Fearful emotions. "You... alright?" She quietly asked as the Nadur Gigas began to take steps, roots tearing up out of the ground.

"Let's see... about to face my tormentor as a child who ruthlessly beat me into submission while she... while it is a giant demic nature giant, so you know, everything is fine." He gulped, his knuckles white as he gripped his katana and softly trembled.

She blinked a few times, softly smiling. "You know, you get sarcastic when scared."

He quickly turned to face her, eye twitching a bit. His face was almost as pale as her skin. "And you pretend everything's fine when it isn't."

"Fair enough." The jade haired girl gave a nod, looking up at the possession Grimm as it charged forward. "And here we go." She darted forward.

"Wait!" Elise shouted, holding out her hands. "What's the plan?!"

"Fight, stay alive, and win!" Kagami shouted back, smiling at the group while jumping up into several trees to get to higher ground.

"Oum help us..." She trailed of, gulping as she swung her rifle onto her back as she too began to jump up into the trees for a sniper's eye view. "Come on, Chey!"

The Faunus gulped, biting her lip as she looked at the others with a nod. "Good luck." She softly smiled, pulling herself up by a branch as she started to climb upward.

"You'd probably be better up there and sniping." Kris eyed the trees while looking at Val. "Trust me. Snipers are heroes when it comes to Grimm." She gave a nod, tipping her fedora before running after Kagami.

"I... okay." The pink haired woman gave a slow nod, gripping her bow tight. She glanced between the two twins. You guys be careful, okay?"

Flashing a wicked smile before grinning, Thanaton picked up several small pebbles. "Hey, I kicked the witch's ass before. I'll just do it again." Her grin only grew. "I'm not going to let anyone hurt my brother. Even if that means bringing out the big guns." She chuckled, shoving the pebbles into her pocket.

With a racing heart and rapid breathing, Nihilus looked over at his sister. "Wait... are you bringing out your weapon...?" His brow rose.

"And I'm out on that remark." Val waved before quickly sprinting into the trees. "Stay safe! Please!" She shouted, climbing up a tree. She paused for a moment, gulping. "Please... I know how she is a monster even more than you guys..."

"You too, Val." The dark haired young man gulped, eyeing his sister. "You too." He actually smiled, running towards the Alpha Nadur Gigas with a firm grip on his katana as that smile faded.

Chuckling to herself, Thanaton stretched out her arms before popping her fingers. "It has been a while since I got to play with you." She reached up unzipping her purple leather jacket. She slid it off dropping it onto the ground. Staring at her black knee high socks and black spats that went down just above her knees, she licked her lips as she started to take off the black leather cuffs around her wrist. Underneath each was a bracelet. She tapped a button on each of them, small shields folding out and covering her forearms.

"Oh how I've missed you guys." She gently blew across the metal on her left arm, a soft shockwave pushing back against her and making her tight light purple shirt move a little. "Now it's play time." She looked up, chuckling as she ran forward.

From above, Elise, Cheyenne, and Val each jumped from one tree to another, hiding in the shadows as they fired away. With ice Dust dart, Elise shot as rapidly as she could at the two left feet of the creature. Meanwhile, Cheyenne had her Atlas rifle switched to its blue mode. With each blast, the back right foot was slowly being encased in ice. As the Nadur Gigas was being slowed, Val took aim at its front right foot, releasing ice Dust tipped arrows at the monster. The three would circle around it, dodging blows from one of its six arms as they fired away.

As the three of them did so, Kagami gave off a war cry, slashing downward from the upper left of the creature and diagonal. Once she fell, Nihilus came from the other side, grunting as he slashed diagonal from the right. As he pulled back and jumped away, Kris came in with both her candy cane weapons bladed. She stabbed them into the middle of the torso of the beast, sliding straight downwards. She quickly jumped back, dodging the middle left arm of the Gigas just in the knick of time. She stumbled back, standing with Kagami on her left and Nihilus on her right.

"That had to do something, right?" Kris panted a bit, looking between the two.

"Not even close." Nihilus muttered, pointing up at the Geist's possession. The four long gashes in its body healing over with new roots and dirt.

"Oh come on." Kagami moved her head around a bit with a groan. "Nothing harms it."

Before either of the other two could respond, Thanaton fell through the air. "Come here, mother-!" She was cut off, the shield on her right arm colliding with the ice on one of the Nadur Gigas' legs. It immediately exploded, sending off a huge shockwave.

"What the hell was...?" Kris trailed off, blinking rapidly.

Nihilus smirked, glancing over. "Explosive reactive armor."

"It's called ERA, Nilly!" Thanaton's voice echoed in the distance as her brother rolled his eyes.

"Well whatever it is, keep it up!" Elise shouted, calling out to the other two snipers. "Cover the front right leg in as much ice as you can, guys!" She shouted while taking aim.

Chuckling as another limb became engulfed in ice, the dark haired young woman charged forward, slamming her left shield into it as another large explosion sounded. Birds flying up in the distance and leaving the scene of the fight.

Stumbling now only on two legs, the Nadur Gigas let out a piercing screech, swinging its arms around towards Thanaton.

"Oh shit!" Said young woman shouted, holding her arms up in a cross shape. As she was hit, the force of the impact sent her stumbling back as the explosion of the arm sent her farther away.

Hissing, the beast turned around, new limbs growing out of it and replacing the ones broken off. Growling a bit back, Kagami bolted forward, lashing out at the legs with her sword while dodging the large and gruesome hands. Yet with each cut, it simply healed back over.

"This is impossible!" Kris shouted, letting the curves of her weapons pop out by chains. She spun them around, wrapping it around the monsters upper limbs. She grunted, pulling it tight. "Chey! Water!"

"Yes ma'am!" The deer FAunus shouted back, switching the mode on her rifle to a lighter blue before firing. This time, a scream of high powered water Dust shot out, soaking the Gigas.

Smirking, the redhead pulled harder on the chains. "Try this on for size!" She snapped, pressing a button on her weapons as electricity shot through the chains. As it did so, the Grimm groaned, not a painful groan, but an annoyed groan. It flexed all its arms at once, twisting around as the young redhead was sent flying.

"Christmas!" Elise shouted, jumping down from her spot to catch the young girl. As she did, she grunted, her feet skidding. She let out a heavy huff of air, looking up. Her eyes then widened at the two sets of demonic nature hands grabbing at them.

"Oh no..." Val's eyes widened as she took aim with her bow, only to grunt as a third hand wrapped around her body before she could. She gave off a scream, one which immediately snapped Nihilus' attention to her.

"No!" He roared, sprinting forward. He jumped up, running along the limb that held Val while cutting deep into it with his katana. "Damn you!" He launched himself upward, anger flickering in his eyes rather than logical thing. He then grunted deeply, another hand came from the side, slamming into his air borne body and snatching him away.

Cheyenne blinked several times, gulping as she jumped away in the trees, just barely missing a hand that went after her. She glanced back at it, gulping as she jumped forward. She hissed silently, her body hitting the palm of the sixth free hand. She grunted, it gripping her tight and pulling her out.

"Bloody hell..." Kagami muttered, slowly stepping back as she saw her three friends and two others being held up. She gulped, gripping her sword tight as she ran forward and slashed across its body with gritted teeth. She was barely able to dodge the last free hand. Well, at least dodge it a couple times.

She was not that lucky though. The large and mangled nature like hand eventually slammed into her, sending her crashing onto her back. The jade haired girl groaned, struggling underneath the hand. She grimaced, being picked up and brought close to the Alpha Geist's mask which was on the Gigas.

"Kagami!" Elise cried out, kicking her legs and thrashing a bit to no avail.

The leader of tem MACE gulped, staring into the single eye of the Grimm. Valentine said she would regret splitting the two. Maybe she was about to. She gulped again, shutting her eyes as the grip on her body slowly began to tighten.

"Shit." Nihilus muttered, his eyes flashing gold. Though when they faded back to blue, he was still in the same place. He was stuck.

Grinding her teeth together, Kagami rolled her head around. It wasn't until there was a crack in her ribs did she spit up blood, giving off a scream.

"No... Kagami!" Kris shouted, kicking her feet as Cheyenne and Val shut their eyes.

Stumbling up to her feet from earlier, Thanaton rubbed her head as she stepped forward. "Damn it..." She groaned, her eyes widening at the sight above. Her eyes locked on her brother and Val, she took a step forward only to freeze and pull back at Kagami's screams. It has always been about her, her brother, and Val. no one else mattered. Well, besides Maya, but she wasn't here. Either way, they were her family. She had to protect them at all cost.

She would protect them at any cost.

Kagami's screams echoed in distance, birds flying up and hurrying away. Elise gritted her teeth, lowering her head down as her body flexed, "D-Damn it!" She shouted, her jaw tightening. "Damn you!"

The Gigas shifted its head, glancing over at the brunet. Slowly, it lifted its arm that was holding Nihilus, bringing him eye level with its single eye right next to Kagami.

With one eye shut and her head leaning back, Kagami was breathing heavy as she softly chuckled with a groan. "Guess... Valentine... really doesn't like the two of us... eh?" She smiled ever so slightly, closing her other eye.

"Oh, not at all..." He said with a grimace, hardly fighting back at all as he took a deep breath. "She just wants us to have tea time with her... Guah!" He grunted slightly.

The Grimm brought the two closer, its eye glowing bright. It seemed like the end for these two former enemies, but as fate may have it, it was no one's time to die.

Falling down from the sky above, Thanaton gave off a warriors scream. The possession glanced up, the head of it tilted to the side. The purple haired young woman crashed down onto one of its raised arms, her feet skidding across it. "This is for everything you have ever put me through!" She shouted, slamming both her shields down onto the wrist of the abomination.

As an explosion erupted, smoke filled the air as the severed nature like hand crashed to the ground with a thud. Slowly, standing up from the rubble, Thanaton shook her head with an arm over her shoulder.

Blinking slowly with soft breathing, Kagami slowly raised an eyebrow at her while sliding her arm off the woman's shoulders. Her long green hair gently blew across her face as she went to speak only to be cut off.

"Shut up." Thanaton quickly snapped, looking away as she brushed her hair behind her ear. She quickly looked back over at her, her jaw tight. "This was best option strategy wise... that's it."

Half smirking, the jade haired girl took a deep breath and stood up straight with her arm wrapping around her torso. "Or deep down you actually care about other people..."

"Just shut up and go get my brother!" She snapped, her teeth razor sharp. She glared for a moment before quickly jumping up and heading towards Val.

Kagami took several deep breaths, trying to find her sword. When she couldn't, she brought her hands up and looked at the two black rings. "Let's hope you have enough Dust in you..." She muttered, taking another deep breath before running forward.

Up above, Nihilus gave off a heavy groan as did the rest of those held by the Nadur Gigas. He rolled his head around, one eye shut as he looked over at Val as Thanaton jumped on top of said limb. His brow rose just a bit before Kagami suddenly landed in front of him.

"Missed me?" She smiled, holding a large black rectangular sword over her shoulder. She swung it around, slicing off the monster's hand at the wrist. As Nihilus began to fall, the sword in her hand shattered like glass before disappearing in a faint mist. She reached down, grunting softly as she grabbed his hand.

"Get Chey, okay?" Kagami said just as one of Thanaton's explosion sounded off.

"Wait-" The dark haired young man started before groaning as she locked eyes with him. Her eyes flashing gold as his did so.

"Get Chey!" She shouted again, her shoulders rising and falling as the world around them froze and lost all color. She gripped his hand tight, throwing him in the direction of said Faunus.

Elise flinched greatly as her leader suddenly appeared before her. The shock quickly vanishing and turning to joy with a very faint smile. "Kagami!"

"Yeah, yea." She panted, her eyes reverting back to their pale green as she slashed away at the hand with black claws from her rings.

As she freed the brunet, Nihilus was suddenly holding onto Cheyenne. The fingers that were holding her having been pried free. "How did you do that?" She blinked slowly as he jumped off the monster with her.

"Is now really the time to ask?" He raised a brow, landing on the ground next to Val just as Kagami and Elise landed with a thud. He glanced up, inhaling deeply as one of his sister's explosions went off again. A moment later, the purple haired woman skidded across the ground with the redhead behind her.

As the Gigas began to reform its limbs, Kagami glanced around with gritted teeth. "Find your weapons now!" She shouted, looking over at Thanaton. "And you distract it!"

"Yes ma'am!" the woman gave a nod, saluting her before running off.

Taking a shaky breath, Elise glanced around. "You heard her. Find them!" She started to run off.

"Naughty and Nice should be pretty easy to find." Kris mumbled, heading back in the same direction.

"You named your weapons?" Val raised an eyebrow, digging through some debris to find her bow.

"Yeah. Don't you?" The redhead seemed confused.

"No! That's stupid" Elise snapped.

"It's not stupid!" She defended.

Sighing, Cheyenne shook her head as she picked up her rifle. "We almost died and they are still arguing."

"That's kinda their thing!" Kagami shouted back, sliding underneath one of the Gigas' arms. She quickly jumped to her feet, holding up her hands. Her black rings gave off a faint crackling sound, only a small mist coming from them before it faded away. She blinked once, her shoulders dropping. "Oh... we're out of black Dust..." She glanced up, seeing an arm heading her way. She quickly shut her eyes, only opening them to the sound of ice forming.

"Move!" Nihilus shouted, holding his katana handle in one hand as he threw an ice throwing star at the monster's arm again, it freezing over. As another limb swung around to strike Kagami, he jumped forward tackling her down a ditch.

"No luck for you!" Thanaton shouted as her shields rammed into the frozen limb with a large explosion.

Down in the ditch, small shards of ice gently fell down like sparkling snow. Nihilus was breathing heavily, kneeling over on his hands and knees on top of Kagami. "You... need to be more careful." He panted, sweat dripping down his face.

Blinking slowly, the jade haired girl laid across the ground while staring up at him. "Nihilus..." She muttered, reaching up slowly and putting her hands on his shoulders.

He blinked once, his face tinting just a bit. "Y-Yeah?"

"Get the hell off!" Kagami snapped, pushing him off before kicking him away and rolling over just as one of the Nadur Gigas' fist smashed into the ground where they once were. As she rolled over, she grunted softly as she hit metal. She blinked once, seeing her sword next to her.

"Of course." She smirked, snatching it up as she shot to her feet. She lunged forward, slicing away the hand while running over towards Nihilus. "Come on!" She shouted, pulling him up to his feet as she ran.

"I'm just saying if your rifle was named Evergreen, it would be really freaking cool!" Kris shouted, sliding under a leg of the monster while slicing at it with her bladed weapons.

"Why in Oum's name would I even consider that?!" Elise shouted, firing red darts at the creature. She then sighed, watching as its arm burst into flames. "Awww..."

"WHY THE HELL ARE YOU TWO STILL ARGUING OVER THIS?!" Thanaton snapped, driving her shields into the flaming limb before jumping back as it exploded into nothingness. "IT IS UTTERLY RIDICULOUS!"

"Because it would be so cool to call Chey's gun Australis!" The redhead demanded, twirling her weapons around before pressing a button as they started to shoot bullets at the Grimm.

Said deer Faunus sighed shaking her head as she pressed a button on her Atlas rifle, the larger barrel forming below the normal one. "We are about to die guys and you are arguing about weapon names!" She shouted, firing the large blast into the middle of the Gigas.

As it stumbled back Val shot several ice Dust tipped arrows at its feet, causing the beast to fall backwards onto its back. "How about we figure out a way to win then worry about weapon names!" She shouted as Nihilus and Kagami ran up.

"What in Remnant's name are you two going on about now...?" Kagami asked, stumbling a bit in exhaustion as she coughed into her arm.

"How we should name your sword Mugen." Kris smiled, twirling her weapons around as she stood on a rock.

The leader of team MACE blinked once, reaching up and rubbing her face with a deep breath. "Oh for the love of Oum..."

"Guys, it's getting back up." Cheyenne muttered, jumping down from the trees and landing next to the group. "And I don't feel like being picked up and crushed again."

"Attacking it and cutting off limbs and freezing them is clearly not working." Val added, stading on a fallen over tree.

"We need an actual plan to try and stop this thing." Thanaton gritted her teeth, looking around as the beast rose to its feet.

"Kagami?" Elise looked over, stepping besides the purpled haired woman. "You got anything in that creative mind of yours?"

"Not... not really. None that i can think of." The jadette gulped, licking her lips as she twirled her sword onto a reverse grip. "I honestly don't know." She stared up at the Nadur Gigas.

"What if... what if you know," Nihilus quietly spoke up. "How you split Val and Valentine? What if you do that with the Geist and what its possessing?

"I..." Kagami coughed a bit, running her hand through her hair. "I guess that could work. I would probably have to be right in front of the face if I was to do so."

"But can you do it?" Elise asked, eyebrows raised and her voice full of concern.

"Yeah." She gave a nod, brushing her nose as the Grimm began to run forward. "Yeah, I can. And I will." She took a deep breath, glancing back at the group. "Cover me."

"But Kagami, you're-" The brunet stopped herself, taking a deep breath as her head lowered. She glanced up, watching as her leader ran forward. "You're pushing yourself way too hard..." She sighed again.

"Come on!" Kris shouted, nudging the young farm girl forward before sprinting ahead. "Shoot the two front legs with ice darts too! I have a plan!" The young redhead looked back at Thanaton while running ahead. "Can you blow up the back legs near the top?"

"Sure can!" The purple haired woman smirked, darting ahead while hiding in the shadows of the trees.

"You follow me!" Kagami shouted back at Nihilus. "With a lightning blade in that katana of yours!" She quickly looked back at Val. "And you shoot as many water arrows you have when I say to!"

While Nihilus gave a nod, Val half smiled with a shrug. "It's kind of an archers thing to never run out of arrows in fights. Just saying. It would be really annoying if it happened to an archer when, I don't know, let's say aliens are attacking a main city?"

"Val that's ridiculous." Kris rolled her eyes. "Everyone knows aliens aren't real."

"You don't know!" Elise quickly snapped, running while loading her darts before jumping into the trees. "We never been to space!"

"Oh for the love of Oum..." Cheyenne took a deep breath, setting her modified Atlas rifle to its regular mode before shooting at the Nadur Gigas' arm.

Smiling as she slid underneath an arm as it was trying to strike her, Kagami quickly jumped back up to her feet. "Thanks Chey!"

"No problem!" The Faunus called back just as two darts struck each of the front feet of the beast. It stumbled a bit, its legs freezing over onto the ground.

Jumping up onto the frozen limb, Kagami grunted as Nihilus appeared beside her. "You know, stopping time is cheating." She pulled herself up, flipping over an arm that tried to wave her off.

"Who said we were racing?" He raised a brow, jabbing the yellow blade of his katana into its leg and spinning around to its back.

Popping her head around to his view, she smirked. "I just did." she back flipped, landing on top of another arm that was going at her. She squated down, gripping onto one of the roots to catch her balance before she started to run up it.

The dark haired young man blinked once lowering his head as he gently shook it. A very faint smile forming on his face.

"Move it or lose it!" Thanaton shouted from behind, driving her shield into its back left leg. As it exploded, a shockwave pushed her backwards. She spun around as she did so, slamming her shields into the other leg. As she was pushed back again, she smirked while brushing her hair back. "Guess you wanted to lose it." She shrugged.

"Hey! Elise!" Kagami shouted, dodging an arm before jumping onto another one. "Shoot the back legs before they can reform!"

"Got it!" The young farm girl shouted back, trailing the ground in her scope before locking on the small nubs it had for back legs. "Fire away!" She softly squeezed her trigger, sending ice darts into them as they froze over and became unable to reform.

The brunet blinked once, seeing a large hand heading her way. "Nope." She stood up on the branch she was on, vanishing in a cloud of smoke just as the root like fingers ran through the smoke. Appearing on the ground on the other side of the Grimm, she grunted softly while shooting new darts at the front feet as the ice began to crack.

"Hey! Chey!" Kagami shouted, running back across an arm as another came from her left behind her to strike. "Three o'clock!"

"Locked on!" The Faunus shouted back, firing a red Dust powered blast into the arm. Seeing it cause a wave a push Kagami off, she blinked. "Whoops! Sorry!"

"I got her! Don't worry!" Nihilus called out, reaching out to catch the jadette. He grunted softly, quickly tossing her up onto another arm as he jumped on top of one on the other side. "Zigzag?" He asked with raised eyebrows.

Kagami gave a nod, smiling as she watched Kris' weapons in chain form wrap around the beast arms.

"Come on!" The young redhead shouted, spinning around the Gigas with her chains wrapping around its limbs. She swung under one arm, wrapping around it a few times before spinning around the torso while running across it vertically.

Kris jerked downward on her weapons, the chains tightening around the Nadur Gigas' arms and bringing them close to its body. It thrashed, bringing the small girl up off her feet a bit.

"Here!" Thanaton jumped up, grabbing one of the candy cane weapons, She gave a smile, one which the younger girl gave a nod back and let go.

As the two landed back on their feet, they both pulled as hard as they possibly could while their feet dug into the ground.

"You know," Thanaton grunted, grinding her teeth together. "These are real nice weapons? You make them yourself?"

"You think a store would sell twin candy cane weapons called Naughty and Nice...?" Kris half chuckled before groaning as her small body was pulled forward a bit.

"Fair enough." She smirked back.

As Nihilus and Kagami jumped back and forth from opposite sides of the Gigas, the jade haired girl smiled as arms stopped trying to hit her. "Thanks, Kris!" She started to run up the slowly twisting around body. "Chey! Freeze the torso!"

"Sure thing!" Cheyenne shouted back, changing the setting on her rifle to dark blue Dust. "Ice away!" She chuckled some. "Get it? Like fire away but ice away?"

"JUST FREEZE IT!" Kris shouted, struggling against its strength even with Thanaton's help.

"R-Right, sorry." The Faunus smiled, holding up her weapon as she shot at the Grimm and froze its arms and torso together.

"Nihilus!" Kagami shouted, jumping over in his direction. "Boost me up!"

"Got ya." He muttered, stabbing his electric katana into the frozen monster as he interlocked his fingers. He grunted, her feet landing in his hands as he hauled her upwards. "Wait!" He pulled his weapon out of the creature. "Why did i need my lightning blade?!"

"I just thought it would be poetic if you used the same type of weapon that you used to first attack us with!" She smirked, tucking and rolling as she landed on the Nadur Gigas' head. "Miss me?" She smiled, her left hand wrapping around the Grimm mask as her arm gained their glowing markings.

Nihilus quickly slid down the side of the creature before landing next to his sister and Kris. he deactivated his blade, biting his lip. "Think this will work?" He asked.

"It has to." Kris mumbled.

As Elise lowered her weapon, she gulped and stared up at the head of the Geist which became engulfed by a bright light. "Come on Kagami, come on." She bit her lip. She then shielded her eyes, a huge shockwave pushing everyone back as Kris' weapons became unhinged and snapped back together.

For a moment, everything fell silent. Val groaned, rolling around as she sat up. Slowly, she stood up. As dust cleared in front of her, she could see Kagami heavily panting with her hands on her knees. "Chey! Decompose the body!" She panted heavier, looking back at Val. "Send... all you water arrows into the ground so it doesn't have anything hard to reform its body if it gets the chance!"

"Right!" Cheyenne swung her weapon onto her back, running forward. She skidded to a stop, kneeling down as she placed her hands on the ground and lowered her head. She took a deep breath, the body of the Nadur Gigas slowly decomposing into a pile of dirt.

Not wasting a second, Val loaded three arrows at a time, firing the water Dust tipped arrows at the pile as it became extremely moist.

Hovering above it, a dazed and confuzed Alpha Geist circled around a bit before its head shot up and it lt out a bloody roar cry.

"Nihilus!" Kagami shouted, drawing her sword as she ran forward towards it.

Without another word, the dark haired young man activated his yellow katana blade, running straight towards the Geist as well.

"For all the people you killed!" She shouted, pulling her arms back to her right.

"And for the hell you put me and everyone else through!" He snapped, pulling his blade down to his right.

"This is where you DIE!" The two both shouted, slicing their weapons at the same time through the air. From the naked eye, it seemed as if the two had just sliced each other in half as they skidded to a stop on the other sides of the Geist, their feet covered in mud. A second of silence fell before the mask of the Geist cracked directly over the single eye. The creature of darkness then let out a ghostly screech before its body collapsed onto the ground. The spikes scattering as the mask broke into three separate pieces onto the ground.

"Now... that's it, right?" Kris raised an eyebrow, looking over at Thanaton.

"I think... I think so." She nodded back, letting her shields collapse back into bracelets as she nodded.

"You know, we did good." Cheyenne smiled, walking over and putting her arm around Kris. "You did a real nice job."

"You too." The redhead smiled back before looking over at the purple haired young woman. "Same goes for you." She smiled as the elder nodded back.

"Let's never do that again... alright?" Nihilus panted, dropping his weapon after deactivating in, He took a few steps back, bumping into Kagami. The two both immediately fell onto the ground while leaning up against each other.

"Agreed..." Kagami muttered while sweat dripped down her face.

"I knew you had it in you." Val smiled, almost on the verge of tears as she placed her bow across her back. She smiled more, kneeling down infront of Nihilus as she rubbed her eyes. "I'm just... that monster is finally gone." She sniffed.

"Hey," He slowly reached out, putting a hand on her shoulder with a smile. "It's the least I could do with how much you have done for me." He smiled a bit more with a soft scoff. Seeing her eyes swell up with tears, he sighed and slowly pulled her close wrapping his arms around her. "Come on, Val, Valentine is finally gone for good. You're alright now." He gently patted her back.

"Hehe, your brother does have feelings." Kris chuckled softly before grunting as Cheyenne elbowed her in the ribs.

Thanaton eyed them, rolling her eyes as she crossed her arms with a faint smile. "Guess it comes with being human." She quietly muttered to herself.

"Hey, you alright there? Kagami?" Elise knelt down infront of her leader, pressing a hand against the jadette's forehead. "You have a fever..."

"I..." Kagami chuckled some. "I honestly feel pretty bad." She softly smiled, rolling her head back as she shut her eyes. "I think... that cut got infected and now I'm sick... from being so stressed too..."

"Oum damn it." The brunet shook her head, sighing as she rubbed her forehead. "Wait, Hey! Kagami!" She shouted, watching as her leader lowered her head and fell unconscious.

Days later, in their small little abandoned home, Val sat at the table while slowly rubbing her arms. She shifted in her chair a bit, smiling ever so slightly. "You know, with Valentine gone I've actually been able to sleep. I mean what I was forced to do still haunts me, but the past nights I was able to sleep without any nightmares of any sorts." She looked up at Thanaton. "I've been actually sleeping and staying asleep."

"Uh..." Even though it was late afternoon, Thanaton had just woken up. Along with her messy purple hair, she only had on a purple sports bra and a pair of black sweatpants. "What?" Her brows raised as she tilted her head.

"She's too dead tired to respond properly, Val." Nihilus muttered, still in his white zipper hoodie with red inside the hood and blue jeans. He glanced back, smiling. "You should know this by know." He chuckled, turning back to the counter as he prepared a heavy slab of deer meat for cooking.

Sighing, Val shook her head and leaned across the table. Rather than in her normal clothes, she had on a pink shirt which had a white cami underneath to block her cleavage from showing. A pair of dark pink bell bottom jeans over her legs and tucked into a pair of black boots with pink trimming. "Yeah, I guess you're right." She sighed before glancing up.

"You're really making Kagami some venison stew, aren't you?" She asked.

"Yep." He gave a nod. "Promised that hunter girl I would. I got everything for it." He pointed at ingrediants. "Venison, carrots, potatoes, onions, celery, garlic, some bay, oregano, salt, pepper, hoisin sauce, cumin, dill weed, and some soul seasoning." He nodded. "Yep, all here."

"Soul seasoning?" The pink haired woman raised an eyebrow. "What's that?"

"It's used to give the meat a little kick." He looked back at her. "Give it a good spice flavor. Should help her a lot."

"That's good, she deserves as much as she can get." Val smiled, rubbing her hands together. "She actually got rid of it..."

"Guess we owe her one, huh?" Nihilus went back to preparing the meat.

"A lot more than one." She sighed, shaking her head. "I owe her a lot more."

"Yeah..." He slowly nodded, waiting a few minutes before speaking again. "Hey, you remember Sanguine and her child, right?"

"Yeah." She looked up. "Literally the worst Vale has to offer crime was." She tilted her head, leaning back. "Why do you ask?"

"I've been hearing some rumors." He scratched his neck as he set the knife down. He slowly turned around, leaning up against the counter. "I heard she has a new girl, really young and blonde. Well apparently the Triple B was here earlier and one of their guys was killed by this new girl on Sanguine's side. Pretty sure the two groups are about to go all out on each other. And they are going to use Vale as their battle ground."

She blinked slowly, glancing down. "Oh... there would be massive bloodshed if Sanguine's crew and the BBB broke out into an all out war." She muttered, gulping some. She then started to faintly smile, looking up at him. "Let me guess, you want to help those girls stop them somehow?"

"Wh-What? No... no!" Nihilus quickly shook his head, waving his hands around. "That's not what I meant!"

"But it's what you thought." Thanaton spoke up with a chuckle, rolling her head around with a sleepy yawn. "Ya know it is..."

"Even I could see that." Val flashed a smile in his direction.

His face went red as he quickly looked away. "Both of you be quiet or else I won't cook anything for dinner." He muttered, picking up the knife.

"Nooo! Nilly!" The dark haired young lady groaned, shoving her face into the table. "I want food!"

"Then be good and don't aggravate me." Nihilus grumbled, taking a deep breath as he started to cut up the meat.

Meanwhile, Elise quietly sighed, placing a cool cloth across Kagami's forehead. The jadette sleeping deeply on a lower bunk. "You're an idiot, you know that?" The brunet muttered with a heavy sigh. "I can't even believe you sometimes." She slowly brushed her leader's hair back before stepping away and sitting in the ground with her two other teammates. "So what are we going to do before we wait to embark on our next adventure?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Well, Kris had an idea of what we could do while we wait." Cheyenne leaned back, pointing over at the redhead.

At that, the younger girl smiled from ear to ear. "Well since Kagami's most likely going I be sleeping for the next day, I thought we could binge watch the Rainbow Time Dancers movies."

"You already explained to Chey how the seven movies correspond to the seven original books and how the series is just a spin off in a way like the rest of the books?" Elise pointed over at said Faunus.

"Sure did." The redhead smiled, pulling out a DVD box set. "And I have all of RTD's movies here!"

"Whoa..." The young farm girl quickly snatched the box away. In big bold words, I said Rainbow Time Dancers: The Legacy Collection. "No way, where did you get this?" Her eyes sparkled like diamonds.

"Jess got it for me a long time ago." She smiled back, bouncing for joy. "I love the case so much! It's so beautiful!"

"You guys are really crazy about this thing, aren't you guys? Even after watching some of the series and watching you play the card game, I don't understand the relevance to this story." The Faunus glanced around with a raised eyebrow.

"RTD IS VERY IMPORTANT!" Kris flailed her arms back and forth in a chibi form. "IF OUR LIVES WERE A BOOK THE AUTHOR WOULD HAVE TO MAKE A SPIN OFF SERIES ABOUT RTD! THAT IS HOW IMPORTANT THEY ARE!"

"Uh..." Blinking slowly, the deer Faunus gently pushed the redhead back down onto the ground. "But why-okay you know what, nevermind." She shook her head.

"Wait." Elise glanced up from the box set, looking over at her leader. "You think Kagami would like to watch these with us?"

"Probably not." Kris muttered. "She never took any interest in t before. Even after I tried so many times..." She grumbled.

"Besides, she needs her rest." Cheyenne smiled, stretching out her arms. "Now how about we start watching this already?"

"Yeah, guess so." Elise sighed, pulling off the case as she opened up the box. She grabbed a red disk labeled Rebirth and handed it over to Kris before freezing. "Wait... are we going to let Chey watch the movies before reading the books?! We can't let that happen! That's wrong!"

"Well I did it." Kris shrugged, putting the disk into a computer. "No harm really. Plus reading takes so looong..." She stuck her tongue out with a groan.

"B-But... but..." The brunet's eye twitched as Cheyenne slowly reached over and patted her back.

"Don't worry." The Faunus smiled. "It'll be fine. We all deserve a break from getting into trouble. Just relax."

Giving a sigh, Elise glanced up over at Kagami before she looked back at the screen. "Yeah, we all need a pretty serious break." She smiled some, wondering what exactly her leader would be dreaming about right now as the first movie in the Rainbow Time Dancers series started.


	57. What If

Everyone was genderbent.

Waking up with a pain splitting headache that shot up the neck and deep into her skull, the leader of team MACE gave off a muffled groan while shifting around. After having fought what was basically a human Grimm, the entire team was exhausted. Especially their leader, who began to grow restless.

"Ngh... what... agh..." The leader of team MACE sat up with a groan, the thick, soft blanket falling down onto the mattress below. "What's... that smell?"

"It's some weird natural candle Elliot wanted to burn, Kikan." A slightly high male voice uttered, showing signs that they hadn't hit puberty yet.

"Elliot... Kikan...?" The leader mumbled quietly.

"Uh, yeah?" A lower male voice spoke. She could hear the quiet sounds of someone cleaning an air-compressed rifle. "That's been my name since I was born. You too. Did you get hit in the head that hard during practice for the tournament?"

"What do you mean... who the hell are-" Stopping in mid sentence, the leader of team MACE's eyes opened, glanced down at the bare torso beneath. Slowly, a pair of hands cupped around her chest where a pair of breast should have been. "What-?!" Cutting off again at the sound of a much deeper voice taking place of a usually feminine one.

"Hey, Chris, go get Kikan a glass of water. I think he's had some weird dream or something?" Another, much softer, male voice spoke up.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, Chelton." The higher voice complained, followed by the pitter patter of footsteps.

As the voices filled the room, Kagami... or more so Kikan stared at his bare chest, eyes filled with confusion. He slowly moved his hands around, trailing across the grooves that made up his abs. "What... the hell...?" He muttered to himself, eyes shifting from his torso to his well-built arms. "What in Oum...?" He twisted his arm around, eyes widening as he stared at his upper arm.

He quickly looked up, glancing around the room which somehow was a dorm in Beacon Academy. Better yet, all the beds were evenly spaced out across the floor rather than all being stacked on top of one another. "How in the world did..." He blinked once, eyes immediately growing even wider as he saw the three others in the room.

At a desk, a young teenager with shaggy light brown hair and antlers was leaning on his left hand, glancing back at him with raised eyebrows. He was dressed in a white shirt with a pair of dark khakis, underneath his arms a piece of paper with a drawing on it. "Kikan, you feeling okay?" He asked in soft and tender tone. His voice reflecting to his strong yet toned down body.

"I-" The leader of team MACE went to speak, only to quickly go silent at a darker short haired male sitting on the floor in a pair of camouflage boxers and a white sleeveless shirt. His arms were tanned from hours working under the sun and flexed with even the slightest movements. In his lap was a gun that was easily recognizable. "I um-" He couldn't find the words to speak as the other brown haired boy tilted his head to the side.

"Dude, you look paler than usual." A red haired, younger boy walked in from the bathroom, holding a small glass of water. He was much shorter than the rest of them, and his arm muscles weren't nearly as developed as his teammates, much like how his voice was higher pitched. What was most notable was his hair though. It was greasy and long on one side while shaved off on the left side as he wore a green spiked choker in blacked ripped shirt with red underneath and dark green pants that were roughed up.

Taking several deep breaths, Kikan glanced between the three others before sharply inhaling. In a blur of green, he was suddenly in the bathroom, door locked behind him. "What... what in Oum's name is happening?" He panted, hands resting on the counter as he stared into the sink. He slowly looked up, his tea green eyes locking with the reflection in the mirror. Gulping, he slowly ran his hand through his hair which was cut just a little bit longer than the dark brown haired boy. "Oh hell no." He let out a huff of air, looking down. "Why... whay... why is... everyone a guy?" He groaned, shaking his head.

Suddenly, he popped his head upward, blinking rapidly. "Everyone... is a guy." He slowly nodded, looking down at the green joggers he was wearing. He glanced around a bit before grabbing the waistline. "I mean... I might as well at least look before i figure this out..." He slowly pulled on the elastic, blinking a few times as his head tilted to the side. "Huh." Seemed to be all that escaped his mouth. "It's not as exciting as I thought."

A few minutes later, Kikan was quickly walking down the halls of Beacon's dorm with shaky breaths. He was wearing a pair of black pants and a green hoodie with the sleeves torn off and the Monomane crest on the back along with a long sleeve black shirt underneath. "This... this is pure madness. I need to figure out what's going on. Come on Kagami. Think." He mumbled, groaning as he rubbed his hands against his face.

"Kagami?" A soft female voice spoke.

There was then another voice, much similar. "Kikan, are you okay?"

"Do you need us to take you back to your dorm." A third very soft feminine voice asked.

Kikan froze in his footsteps, not even daring to look behind himself at the three speaking. "Dear Lord Oum and Dark Oum no..." His voice rose a bit before cracking.

"Hey, Fiddy, does he seem okay to you?" The first asked.

Like on cue, the second followed. "I don't know. What do you think, Fiffy?"

"He does seem a bit tense, Praccy." The third nodded in agreement.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no." The jaded haired boy quickly shook his head around. "Please no. No, no, no." He whined softly, his jaw clenched as he slowly turned his head to look behind him. There, he saw three identical girls. Each incredibly skinny yet tall while wearing Haven's uniform a size too small that showed off their curves. He let out another soft whine, watching them each flip their dirty blonde hair a second after the last.

"What's the problem?" Smiling, the eldest sister put her hand under her chin.

The middle moving her hands behind her back. "You know we are VERY good at calming and relieving stress."

"Mathews would definitely agree with that." The younger added with a wave of her hand and a wink.

Kikan's eye twitched slowly before a low and soft male voice startled him from the opposite direction he was looking.

"What would I agree to?" His voice was filled with sass as he crossed his arms over his male Haven uniform. His hair a light brown and shaggy just like the deer Faunus.

At that, Kikan lost it. The world shattering around him as he let out a scream, bolting away and down the halls into what felt like a never ending void until he found himself walking the streets."Oh my Oum... I've gone completely insane." He panted, having no idea how much worse it was about to get.

"Kikan? What are you doing out here?" Another male voice echoed behind him, making his breath hitch before he groaned. As he turned around, he saw a orange haired man in Atlas armor and a sword at his side.

"Oh please no more..." He whispered to himself.

"Hey! Julius!" A redhead young man shouted, quickly running up behind him in red and golden armor. "We need to find- Oh. Kikan?" He blinked, his heavy sword swaying at his side.

"Quiet! Jesse!" The captain snapped, eyes adverting back to Kikan. "Okay, that's not the issue. There are these two criminals running around. Have you seen them?"

"I-I... I uh..." He couldn't even find the words to speak, his body trembling as he slowly looked across the street. There, he spotted a long purple haired woman in what could only be described as a strippers outfit colored lavender and a short blonde boy with wicked growing in his red eyes and a well fitted red tuxedo.

"Jesse! There!" The orange haired man shouted, pointed across the street.

The redhead quickly reached for his sword, running after. "Denise Ysus and Eros Sin! Freeze or we will use brute force!" He snapped.

Slowly stepping away with wide eyes, Kikan began to hyperventilate. "Holy hell... holy freaking bloody hell..." He shook his head before flinching at footsteps behind him.

"Hehe, finally found you." Back in an alleyway, a purple haired young man that was well built grinned, cracking his knuckles. His muscles flexing underneath a tight purple shirt and black pants. "It's about time I get to beat your ass."

"Hush, hush, hush, Thanatos." A soft and gentle female voice rose from the shadows, out walking a long blue haired girl shorter than the male next to. "Valerius wanted her alive. Do YOU want to face his wrath again." She has on a dark blue skirt with black leggings and white top with a red collar.

Shivering some, the taller shook his shoulders. "No way. The pink haired maniac is the sole reason real men wear pink. He could crush anyone with that bow and arrow. Not to mention that relentless strength underneath all that leather and clothing, Nihilus."

Groaning, Kikan reached up to rub his face harder as he shook his head around. "Why is she stilled named Nihilus after all this?!" He cried out. "Is that name seriously gender neutral?!" He screamed louder, hunching his body over as he curled his head inward. "Someone just tell me what the hell is going on!"

Panting heavily, the leader of team MACE jerked upward again. This time, pain shooting through the chest and deep inside the core. Letting out a groan, light filled the terribly confused pale green eyes as they glanced around. Seeing nothing more than a bunk in Julius Caesar's control along with seven DVDs spread about across the floor next to a television screen projector.

Letting out a huff of air, Kagami reached up to rub her face slowly. "Nothing... but some crazy dream." She sighed, shaking her head as she shifted around. Her body was still aching like mad from the fight with Valentine. She then glanced over, seeing Elise sound asleep while sitting on the floor and leaning next to the bed. One of her arms was stretched out across the mattress as her ponytail had several loose hairs.

She rolled her eyes at that, letting out a small sigh as she brace her palms against the blanket and moved her legs off the other edge of the bed with a muffled groan. She tried not to strain her chest, but with that sort of twisting movement it was difficult not to. She slowly inhaled, her head rolling back along with her shoulders as she shut her eyes. "Oum, if I never have a dream like that again it will be too soon..." She sighed, her body relaxing as she slowly stood up.

"Come on, Elise, you can't sleep on the floor..." She cringed slightly, walking around the bed towards where her teammate was. Pausing once she got there, she raised her arm over her mouth, coughing a few times while wincing at the cough that irritated her chest further. "Agh..." She groaned. "I'm sick AND hurt. By the gods, Baren would have a freaking field day with me..." She uttered quietly under her breath, kneeling down as she slowly slid her arm underneath the brunet.

Shifting around as she felt a blanket being placed over her, Elise let out a small and very hushed groan. With half her face pressed against a pillow, her shoulders slowly burrowed their way underneath a blanket as she curled up. Her green eyes slowly flickered open, strands of her brown hair falling across her vision. "Ka...gami...?" The name barely escaped her mouth as she watched her leader walk over towards a container with a post it note stuck on the type. She let out a huff of air, her head curling up as her eyes shut once again.

The jadette blinked, glancing back just in time to catch her teammate falling to sleep on the lower bunk. She faintly smiled, turning her head back around towards the container. She reached out, snatching up the post it note that read: _Nilly made venison soup for you. He said he didn't want to write a note so I did! P.S. He makes the BEST food. -T_

She rolled her eyes at that, setting the note aside before brushing her green colored hair behind her ear. "Those twins really aren't that bad." She muttered to herself, wincing slightly as she sat down on a chair. "Not really hero type either... but maybe the title anti-hero..." She smirked, taking the container of soup in her hands. It was still slightly warm, making her realize it hadn't been too long since Nihilus or his sister dropped it off.

As the lid popped off, a sudden burst of incredible sense of flavor shot through Kagami's nostrils. The sensation quickly forcing her mouth to water as she exhaled deeply, her shoulders rolling back as she slouched. "That... smells absolutely amazing." She licked her lips as she raised the rim of the container to her mouth, sipping at the broth with a relaxing huff of air. "And it taste just as you think..." The corners of her mouth raised a bit more, her eyes glazing over and softening as she raised her hands up.

The following morning, team MACE was sitting at their usual table in Julia's mess hall, her soldiers all eating around them. Pots and pans clanging softly in the distance as an uproar of talking and bustling filled the air as everyone tried to eat as quickly as they could.

"So, you're feeling better?" Cheyenne asked, putting a spoonful of cereal into her mouth with a crunch. She quickly swallowed, her eyes shutting for a split second before opening. "You were out for nearly thirty six hours. That's a lot of rest."

"Yeah." Kagami nodded back slowly, eating the leftovers of the deer stew. Though, she didn't let her Faunus friend see her taking bites of the meat. She couldn't do that of all things. "My chest still feels sore, and I woke up last night sweating, and I don't think I have a fever anymore. Especially after drinking that broth."

"I can second that stuff being really good." Elise raised a hand, half a pork chop hanging from the corner of her mouth. "Those twins brought a second helpings of it over. It was also supposed to be for you but I kinda ate it." She smiled bright while slurping down the meat.

Cheyenne and Kris both looked at each other, shivering slightly with their tongues stuck out. "Ew, just ew." The redhead muttered as she ate some French toast. "I still don't get why we're still not turning, you know, criminals in, but whateveeeer. I guess if you trust them... which I still don't." She paused for a moment. "Not... fully that is." She huffed a bit before wincing, a pair of arms wrapping around her head as she was pulled back into a rather large busted female.

"Good morniiing!" Jess hummed, squeezing her sister tight with a smile. "It's nice to see all of you are still alive after that mayhem you four pulled!"

"Guagh! Can't! Breathe! Jess!" Kris struggled, her face turning the same color as her hair as she clawed at her sister's arms.

"Good to be back amount the walking." Kagami gave a small nod before taking a bite off a potato.

"Welp, all ends well finally." Elise leaned back in her seat a bit, arms outstretched above her head. "We could finally relax for a little! Maybe go to a beach or camping! Ohhh, that sounds so fun!" She nearly bounced around, only to stop as a hand was placed on her shoulder. Blinking, she glanced up at the orange haired female. "Julia?" She raised an eyebrow at her expression.

"That's... going to be easier said than done. You see..." She trailed off, retracting her hand with a sigh. "I have some bad news. You might want to listen too, Jess."

"Huh?" The elder Eve released her sister before pulling at the red and golden sleeves on her top. "What's wrong? Did something happen?"

As Kris gasped for air, collapsing onto the table, Julia slowly shook her head as she placed her hands on her hips. "It seems the General wishes to recall all troops back to Atlas in signs of recent events. Which means..."

"You're all going to have to pack up and leave, aren't you?" Cheyenne asked quietly.

"Mhmm." The Captain confirmed with a slow nod. "Ironwood is recalling everyone. And once he seals off those doors, no one will get in and no one will get out."

"And this is why I hate the military." Elise muttered before blinking. She quickly began to wave her hands. "N-Nothing against you guys! You guys are cool!"

Kagami rolled her eyes, looking up at the captain with a small sigh. "So I guess this is goodbye for now?" Pain stiffened off the words she spoke.

"It's never goodbye, Kagami, it's always see you later." She smiled, holding out a hand. "And I promise you, you ever want to join my little band of sword wielding misfits, I'll always have a spot open for you."

The jadette scoffed, reaching out and holding onto her hand tightly. "I can promise you I'll definitely think about it. For now I have my own misfits." She smiled, motioning her head towards her teammates.

"Then you take care. Broken ribs shouldn't be messed with." She pulled her hand away.

Likewise, Kagami did the same. "And neither is almost two dozen stab wounds to the back."

Coughing a bit, Kris looked up at her sister while rubbing her neck. "So... this means you're leaving again."

The older redhead's expression changed from its usual spunky self to a more lonesome feeling. "Guess so." She smiled softly, reaching over and ruffling her sister's hair while pressing down on her red fedora. "You take care of yourself. I'm glad I got to see you this much."

"Yeah..." She gulped, quickly rising to her feet as she wrapped her arms around her big sister. "Don't get into too much trouble. And don't get hurt. Well not too badly. Just... stay safe in Atlas. And... I'll miss you. A lot." She gulped.

"Me too, sis, me too." Jess gently wrapped her arms around her, holding her caringly while stroking at her hair. This unlike her usual rough hugs. "I always miss you."

"Um wait." Cheyenne blinked, scratching at her antlers. "Guys. If they're leaving, where are we going to stay?" Her eyebrows rose.

"Oh!" Elise smiled, raising her hand. "I know a great place! It will be perfect! It will be like a sleep over that last forever!"

"What..." Kagami muttered, nearly deadpanning as she looked at her teammate.

Hours later that night, Kagami, Cheyenne, Kris, and Elise were all bunched together under a blanket on a folded out hide away bed. The group laying in the living room of Elise's parents. To the right was a recliner piled high with the girls' clothing, and in front, just inches from the foot of the bed, a television stand. And zero room for walking. In the background, the sound of three newborns crying out filled the night air. All which were followed by soothing sounds of Eleanor whispering to them and Klein's low voice trying to sound gentle.

With her eye twitching, Kagami stared up at the ceiling while clutching the top of the blanket. "Worst. Idea. Ever." She stated, adding as much emphasis to each word as she can.

"AGREED!" Kris and Cheyenne both shouted in a hushed whisper, eyes just as wide as their leader's. Meanwhile, at the end, Elise was sound asleep. Her snoring only being muffled by the sound inside the apart and the sounds coming from the city of Vale.

Inside this fair city though, a war was brewing. Blood had already been shed and countless shops had been robbed. Some civilians were beginning to fear walking the streets in late evening. They all would strike like ninjas, unseen but leaving a trail of carnage behind. And when there is criminals and bandits running rampid across the streets of a once peaceful city, there is only one person who they can call. Only one person who could catch them like a million lien bounty was on their heads.

"Officer Scath!" A tall and skinny secretary stumbled into an office, his blonde hair cut short. He pressed down on his hat, keeping it steady while waving a stack of papers around. "There was a breech or a break out at Vale's maximum security facility! From the inside!" He spoke rapidly. "Dion Ysus somehow escaped again! He passed all facial and identification codes with ease! And we still can't figure out how-!" He was cut off, a tennis ball whacking him upside the head and bouncing off.

"Jonny." A stern voice shot through the air, making him yelp quietly. "With all the crime going on, I am surprised it didn't happen sooner." A female Faunus with black hair done to her shoulder looked up, narrowing her brown eyes at him. It was then her canine ears twitched as she held up her hand, catching the tennis ball.

All across her desk was several files along with random papers of sorts. Plus a few bags of puppy chow and many more tennis balls scattered across the room. The trash can itself was overflowing with crumbled up balls of paper, many circling around it. An the walls, pictures and mug shots were connected with red string, all stuck up by clear thumb tacks.

She tossed the green ball rather hard, letting it strike against the wall with a thud. She quickly bolted to the other side of the room, papers flying upwards as she picked up a few papers. "The jail was broken into a few nights ago. Most likely for some petty thieves and drunks who are needed for dirty work." Raising her hand just in time, she caught the ball she threw, tossing it again. This time, it came centimeters from Jonny's face.

She bolted to the other side of the room, picking up a case file. "And markings of the BBB are coming across so many buildings and walls. Even cars." She groaned, raising her hand again as she caught the tennis ball with a fierce force. The impact causing a small shockwave that ruffled her hair and police uniform.

"I-I know, but Officer Scath, the chief-" He was cut off, raising a finger before lowering it.

"I don't care what stupid little no good jay walker he wants me to go after." She sighed. Tossing the tennis ball away. "There is something far worse and we need to figure it out."

"Th-That's why I came..." He muttered, holding out the file. "Ysus has old connections with Sanguine. Maybe he is going back to meet up with her."

She blinked, suddenly snatching the papers away with a smile. "That's wonderful, Jonny! Thank you! And if he does work with her... we're getting one step closer to her and that monster of her's..." She looked down at her desk, more importantly a file named _Tenebris, Tohopka_.

"That's why I got them for you, Officer Scath." Jonny smiled with a slow and shaky nod.

To that, the Faunus officer sighed. "Jonny, how many times do I have to tell you." She looked over at him. "You can just call me Keegan."

* * *

 **Hehe, hey guys. You know, my like 22 followers. Hello! Sorry for not posting anything in like three months. I kinda sorta somewhat fell into a rut and it was pretty bad. I literally just didn't want to write anything. Which is so not me. I just got really depressed. Because life sucks. And is a bitch. But you know, whatever. Things weren't going to well, and they're still not, but I finally got myself to write a chapter. I'm way too deep into this to stop now. But I ended up getting second place in Fortnite Battle Royale on my first match for the day, bought LEGO Batman the Video Game for my Xbox, which was my first ever game ten years ago for Wii and damn the nostalgia was real, and put on my Overwatch gloves as I drank a nice cup of chamomile tea out of my Beacon mug and decided to finally sit down and write. I still need to finish the Rainbow Time Dancers chapters before the next nine chapters of MACE for plot reasons, so I will have to get around to those eventually. Again, I'm sorry about the three months of no posting. I will try really hard to get back into weekly chapters, but with how things are I can't make any promises. I am also sorry for the probably massive swarm of grammar errors in this too. I would put this nowhere near the top of my list in things I've written. I'll have to rewrite it at some point. Anyway, take care! I can promise you this isn't the end. I have plenty upon plenty plot mapped out in my head. Till next time, later!**


	58. The Way Of The Warrior

With her arms raised up and hands behind her head with fingers interlocking, Kagami had her mess of a hairstyle in a ponytail with a few strands and layers draping down across her face. The sun had risen only an hour earlier, but she was wide awake as she stood in the small apartment bathroom Elise's parents were renting along with the brunet's mother, Eleanor. Her black and green shirt was currently off, leaving the jadette in her black sports bra as Eleanor checked out her old battle wounds.

"You know, your husband's name, Klein, it means small, right?" The younger asked with a slightly puzzled gaze, feeling her elder press her palm gently against the right lower set of rib bones. No sharp stabbing pain following the action despite the bruises still there.

"Yep." Eleanor gave a nod, brushing a few strands of her hair behind her ear with a faint smile. "He was the youngest of his brothers. And also the smallest of the bunch." She slowly made her way up, feeling for any swelling or signs of pain. "And he was still the smallest the last Elise and I met them. Which... wasn't that long ago."

Kagami blinked once, dead panning as her eyes widened ever so slightly. "You're... you're joking right? He's practically seven feet and has arms as big as a log."

"I'm telling you the truth." The older dark blonde pulled her arms away as she held them up and closed her eyes for a split second as she tilted her head. "He's the runt in his family. Just, don't tell him I said that." She waved her hand in front of her neck horizontally.

"That's... remind me never to anger his family." The green haired girl mumbled, feeling a set of soft hands go over towards her left rib cage with a slight wince.

"Sorry." Eleanor quickly shot, retracting her hands as fast as she spoke. "Still sensitive over there, huh?" She ask, placing her hands back across the damaged area much softer.

"Yeah." She gave a nod with a sigh, lowering her head down a couple degrees as she shut her eyes. "The right side feels perfectly fine though. And when I move they don't hurt at all. It's just mainly when a pressure is applied hard enough on the left."

"Hmmm..." She crossed her arms, tilting her head to the side a bit as her hair arched over her shoulder. "Well, it's definitely healing up nicely. You're lucky you have such a strong aura to help your body speed up the process." She gave a soft nod, smiling ever so slightly as she grabbed a roll of compression wrap. "A few more days with this and those bruises should be gone completely."

"That's good to know." Kagami nodded back, inhaling deeply as her chest was wrapped with care and precision by the soft fabric. "I'm sure you're tired of having to do this anyway."

"Nonsense." She waved her hand off, chuckling a bit as she moved the roll of compression wrap firmly around her torso.. "When I was little I would get hurt on a lot of my adventures. And when Beacon came along, it was kind of nice to help someone else out who was injured." She finished up, grabbing the jadette's shirt from the sink and tossing it to her with the shake of her head. "Well, you know, after we stopped completely hating each other and trying to out class one another. THEN everything was fine." She smiled, brushing her hair out of her eyes.

With a soft scoff, Kagami shook her head as she slid her shirt back on. "I guess all Huntresses and Huntsmen teams start off with a few bumps." She paused for a few seconds before adding with smile. "Or a lot."

"Indeed." Eleanor's smile brightened as she crossed her arms once again. "So what do you four have planned anyway? More stopping crime raids or bandit groups?" She raised an eyebrow. "Though I'd prefer if you'd wait till you're older and more experienced, but by now I know there is no stopping any of you. So I might as well just learn what dangerous shenanigans you four are jumping into." Her head tilted, eyes blinking. "What do I have to worry about this time?"

"Well..." The leader of team MACE blinked, glancing down as she rubbed the back of her head. "This time, it's not really dangerous. Aside from the normal threat of encountering Grimm on a journey. But we can handle those soleless creatures on our own."

Tilting her head to the other side, Elise's mother blinked as her left eyebrow rose upward. A curious yet slightly relieved expression coming across her face as she let out a breath of air.

"Wait, we're doing what?" Cheyenne asked, reaching up and scratching at the base of her antlers. Her brows were furrowed as she shifted the position of her head towards the jadette. Wearing an oversized light brown shirt along with a pair of dark brown pajama pants, she was sitting on the right side of the couch, Kris on her left.

The redhead herself was holding the remote to the television in her right hand with her elbows digging into her thighs. She was wearing a loose green shirt along with a pair of red athletic shorts. The remote itself nearly falling out of her hand due to how loosely she was gripping it. "What..." She blinked a few times, bewilderment spreading across her face. "What do you mean we're going to go visit the person that taught you how to fight...?"

"Well, see," Kagami let out a sigh, scratching at the back of her head underneath her hair. "Since they live alone in the middle of the woods they spends a lot of time combining and messing around with Dust. And the two rings they gave me for emergencies finally ran out of the black Dust they makes. So I kind of need to refill them. And I need them to do that." She smiled.

"Wait." Elise pointed up at her leader as she sat on the floor with crossed legs. Her other hand gripping her ankle tight. She was wearing Kagami's hoodie along with a pair of brown short. "So those rings... aren't magic?"

"No..." The jadette glanced down at her, trailing off a bit as her eyebrows rose. She quickly looked over at the other two who seemed just as confused and as shocked as Elise. "No, guys, no." She let out a heavy breath of air, reaching up and pinching the bridge of her nose. "Not everything about me is magic." She lowered her arm back down. "These rings use a special black type of Dust that we calls Matter Dust. At first when you're creating it, the Dust is in a liquid form. And as it cools it turns into a vapor. That's what was put inside the rings."

She held up her left hand, showing it to the three girls in front of her. "The cool thing is, when one puts their aura into the black Dust to charge it, the vapor becomes a solid. And with enough practice, you can learn to mold shapes from your aura with the Dust."

Elise, Cheyenne, and Kris each stared back at her, blinking rapidly. As the Faunus tilted her head and the redhead finally let the remote fall, the dark brunet slowly raised a hand with her finger extended. "Okay... okay. Wait just a minute. Okay. I'll take that but..." She blinked rapidly, her head tilting to the side as her face scrunched up. "Someone picked you up... and trained you after you left Vytal? You didn't just go out on your own and become... you?"

"No?" She looked back at her puzzled before shaking her head and looking at the other two. "Wait, hold on. Did all off you think a thirteen year old girl who had no clue how to fight, let alone use a sword, went and raised herself in the middle of the woods WITHOUT ANYONE'S help?" Her head cocked to the side, her shoulders dropping.

"Well when you put it like that, you make us sound stupid..." Kris mumbled quietly while looking down with a small pout.

Staring at her three friends before her, Kagami blinked as they each shifted their gaze away from her and grew silent. She sighed heavily, reaching up to rub her face with the palms of her hands. "I can't believe..." She let out a heavy exhale before breathing in deeply. "Do you three want to come or not?" She finally asked, smiling with a soft scoff as she heard her answer in unison.

Watching as the door shut behind as his daughter and her three friends left, Klein held on to two of his sons as he gently bounced them up and down to calm them. "So, you're just letting them walk out towards a random destination? That's so unlike you."

"I know." Eleanor nodded back, sitting on the couch as she held and fed the third triplet. "And it's taking every nerve in me to stop me from stopping them, but I trust Kagami. She's Midori's daughter after all."

"Your old leader. Huh." He cocked his head to the side, shrugging it off as he turned around and started towards the kitchen. "You're going to need another bottle. He's devouring that one."

"Yeah, I know." She rolled her eyes with a sigh before staring into her child's eyes. "You have your papa's stomach. I bet all of you do. So you better get a job or learn to hunt. Because I'm not dealing with having to feed four giant and hungry bears." She waved her finger at him, to which the small child simply giggled and laughed at with his tongue out.

Walking down a dirt path to what literally felt like it was headed to the middle of nowhere, Kris let out a deep groan. Her boots crunching heavily against the ground below her feet. "How come I have to carry a backpack this time?" She whined, pouting as she regripped the straps on the large backpack over her shoulders. "I don't like carrying this!" She hissed, blowing strands of her hair out of her face as she jerked her head upward, letting the fedora on top of her head move from her eyes.

Chuckling quietly to herself with her hands behind her head, Elise grinned with her eyes shut as she carried hers and Cheyenne's weapons. "Well Kagami and I carried them last time when we went to meet Chey's family. Only fair you carry them this time." She glanced back, sticking her tongue out. "And the next time we travel we'll carry them again!" She began to chuckle more, hearing the small redhead let out a muffled scream.

As the two began to bicker once again, because sometimes, some certain things will never change over time, Cheyenne quickly stepped up next to Kagami, keeping her arms tucked inside the pockets of her vest. "Sooooo..." She glanced around a bit, looking between the trees. "Do you know where we are going exactly? We've been walking since noon. How much farther do we have to go?"

"We shouldn't be too far off." Kagami mumbled, glancing around. Along with her sword, she was also carrying Kris' duel candy cane weapons. "But we um..." She looked over at the deer Faunus, chuckling with a soft smile. "We kinda need to go that way." She raised her hand, pointing towards the tree line.

"Um, what?" The brunette let out, blinking rapidly as they stopped walking.

"Yeah." The jadette nodded some more. "They literally live in the middle of nowhere. And they stay perpendicular from the road from that rock." She pointed over at the other side of the road, a large rock the size of a car resting there.

Blinking a little more, Cheyenne shook her head with a shrug. "Okay. I've seen enough to where this isn't that unbelievable. Let's go." She twisted around on her heels, walking straight into the treeline. Kagami following behind with a chuckle as she grabbed Elise and Kris, pushing them in the new direction.

A while later, Elise let out a yawn while scratching at her back. The sky beginning to turn a bright shade of pink. "As much as I love hiking, I am starting to get tired." She yawned again, stretching her arms. "Are you sure this person didn't move?"

"Positive." Kagami muttered, moving her shoulders around. "Though I can honestly say I'm starting to get tired as well." She brushed back her hair, tilting her head to the side in slight confusion. It wasn't that far away, was it?

"Dido." Cheyenne quickly raised a hand, moving her jaw around as she swallowed thickly. "My legs are really starting to get tired and could use a break and some rest."

The three then went silent, waiting for the usual snappy and sassy response from the fourth girl on their team. Though, it never came as the sound of a branch snapping in the distance echoed throughout the air. Each of the girls went still, adrenaline overcoming exhaustion as their eyes grew sharp and narrowed at their surroundings.

"Did you guys hear that?" The deer Faunus quietly whispered as she looked around.

"Yeah." Elise nodded back, handing the brunette's weapon over towards her. "Here. It could be trouble."

"Yay. Grimm fight in the middle of the woods." Kris rolled her eyes. "Just like initiation. Did anyone remember to bring parachutes for the landing strategy this time? Don't need that blonde and scraggly boy almost dying again."

As Elise and Cheyenne both rolled their eyes, Kagami blinked slowly as she handed off the duel weapons to the redhead. "Sorry, Kris, but that's definitely not Grimm." She mumbled, her right hand reaching up to grab the hilt of her sword as she saw a blur of pink flash by in between a pair of trees. In one swift motion, she drew her sword, her right hand going towards her left hip as her other hand rose up to hold the blade steady as she barely had time to block a long ninjato blade.

"Crap! We've got a bandit!" Elise shouted, loading and cocking her air compressed rifle.

"Bandit?" The woman holding the ninjato blinked, glancing back at her with a disgusted look on her face."Who the hell are you calling a bandit?" She had a large mass of deep pink hair, probably three times as much as Kagami had, tied into a ponytail with a strand of hot pink fabric. Her unevenly cut bangs wrapped around her face, strands hanging down across her pink eyes. There was a scar down across her right jawline, showing signs of a clean cut many years ago.

She had on a pair of handmade wooden geta, braided string keeping them attached to her feet. Along with that she had on a white hakama with a hot pink trim sewn on with golden thread. A long white scarf tied around her waist to hold it up, the ends hanging just right from her symmetrical axis point. Though, her body was far from symmetrical

Over her traditional outfit, she had on a large and loose pink leather jacket. The front fully undone as the back and arms had a few scuffs from old battles long forgotten. What made her stand out most of all wasn't the sheath attached to her left hip, it was the fact her right arm, or where in fact her right arm should have been, was completely limp. And the fact she was holding the pink fabric wrapped handle of the ninjato solely in her left hand and equal strength to Kagami.

"Um, you?" Elise raised an eyebrow before she narrowed her eyes. "Ugh Whatever!" She gritted her teeth, taking a split second to aim before firing.

The woman gave off a soft scoff, eying Kagami with a questionable expression before shoving the young girl backwards. Tossing her blade into the ground, she tilted her head to the side as she snapped her left arm up near her neck. Opening the fist she made, she held Elise's dart between her thumb and pointer finger. "You'll have to try a lot harder than that, sweet cheeks."

Smiling, she flicked the dart to the ground as she dropped her body down low to dodge a blow from Kris' duel weapons. Placing her left hand on the ground, she spun around, raising her right foot in the air to roundhouse kick the redhead away. This gaining an aggravated groan from the short girl as she caught her balance and slid across the forest floor.

At the same time, the woman spun back around, snatching up her ninjato blade in a reverse grip to block a red blast from Cheyenne's rifle. A puff of reddish smoke caressed around her body like a fluid, a soft wind blowing at the strands of her loose hair.

"Now, if you don't mind." She spun her blade back into a hammer grip, jumping back and into the treeline just in time to dodge a second blast from the modified Atlas rifle.

Back where Kagami had been shoved away, the jadette quickly shook her head, rubbing it with her left hand as she held her sword in her right. Letting out a huff of air, she quickly raised her sword, locking it with the straight edge katana that came slicing through the air in front of her.

The pink haired warrior gave a small but noticeable smile, easing up on the pressure she was applying to her weapon. Kagami did the same, only she smirked as she took a step back. Nodding back, the two both exchanged small and quick taps between the sword and ninjato before they both spun around, Kagami striking from above as the woman brought her blade from below. The cold steel clashing with loud strikes of metal against metal.

Locking blades with Kagami once again, the woman held onto the handle of her own in a reverse grip. Both their feet gently slightly across the ground from the sheer force the two were putting against each other. As a faint cloud of smoke began to trail behind the pink haired woman, she raised an eyebrow, glancing behind her right shoulder to see the full cloud along with a slim figure appearing inside.

She gave a scoff, raising the hand a little higher before releasing the ninjato. With a solid chomp and teeth flaring, she bit down on the handle, keeping the pressure up against Kagami's sword as she twisted her body to the side. Blocking Elise's baton with her left forearm, the woman gave off a soft grunt, letting a breath of air escape her mouth as she looked into the angry brunet's rageful eyes.

Before the young girl could withdrawal, the woman twisted her arm around, grabbing the stick. Keeping her head in place and jaw locked tight, she jerked the melee weapon away while bringing her foot up and kicking Elise square in the chest. The blow knocking her backwards and tumbling across the ground before she caught her balance and slid back while crouched.

In the action, Kagami took it upon herself to push harder on the woman's blade, consequently disarming her. The handle of the weapon flying from her mouth and jabbing into the ground below. She let out a huff of air, straightening her body to attack again only to feel the baton strike the side of her head.

Watching her stumble back dazed and disoriented from the strike, the woman jumped into the air, landing both feet into Kagami's torso and launching her backwards. Hearing the crunching of leaves behind her, she spun around, bringing the baton downward across Elise's head. The brunet heavily grunting as she fell to the ground.

The woman gave off what was almost like a disappointing sigh as she tossed the baton next to Elise. She then stepped over, gripping the handle to her ninjato as she jerked it out of the ground. Not a moment after she did so, the sounds of chains rattling behind her made the hairs on the back of her neck stand as her shoulders squared. She twirled around, twisted her blade into a hammer grip as she narrowed her eyes.

Two curved edges of Kris' candy cane weapons wrapped around the straight edged katana blade, the chains clinging on and tightening with a loud click. Grinning, the young redhead went to jerk the weapon away, only to stumbled as the woman stabbed her blade back into the ground. Keeping a firm grip on the pink handle, the woman brought her right leg up, wrapping it around the chain with smirk back at Kris.

"Oh shit." The young girl muttered under her breath, her feet leaving the ground as she was sent flying through the air and up into the sky, still holding onto her duel weapons. Just before the woman went to release the chains from her weapon, a large red blast shot through the air, coming from the second barrel on Cheyenne's rifle.

The woman looked over her left shoulder, blinking at the blast before giving a small sigh as she lowered her head down, shutting her eyes. The strike hitting her dead on. Power Dust exploding around her and picking up and pushing back small debris. But, as the area cleared, the smile on the deer Faunus' face faded as the woman was left standing as she was before. Only now with a few scuffs on her leather jacket as her hair waved back and forth.

"You'll need a higher setting if you want to do something." She let out, grabbing the chain attached to Kris' weapons, the smaller girl started to fall from the sky. With a solid jerk and a heavy grunt, she pulled the chain down, sending the redhead at a much faster speed towards the ground.

"Look ouuuuuuuut!" Kris screeched, closing her eyes the second Cheyenne came into her view of impact. The Faunus blinked, standing up on the tree branch she was on and trying to get away. Though it was too late. The younger collided with her, breaking the branch as the two crashed into the ground.

Snatching her ninjato from the ground, the woman slid the wrapped chains off before jumping back and into the treeline. Growling deeply, Elise rubbed her head as she slowly pushed herself to her knees. Her body swaying a bit still from the blow as she glared in the direction the woman went.

Hidden inside the trees, the woman jumped from one to another, eyes darting all across the place. Finally, she froze in place, her feet skidding across the ground. "Where are you..." She uttered before quickly moving her ninjato behind her back and smirking as metal struck metal once again. "You're getting fairly good at being silent now." She smiled, glancing over her shoulder.

Kagami smiled back, pulling her sword away as she headed in for another strike, the woman spinning around and blocking. A small shockwave rushing past the two. "I think my swordsmanship has improved more." She tightened her grip.

The woman rolled her eyes, twisting the ninjato around the two sided celtic sword to loosen her grip before pulling back and sending a foot against the jadette's hands to disarm her. Her sword clattering softly against the ground. "You wish." She stabbed her blade into the ground, lunging forward without it. "Now what about hand to hand!" She called out.

Kagami quickly lowered her head, tilting it to the side to avoid contact with her left fist. She then quickly crossed her arms, blocking a kick before jumping back with a clenched jaw. The woman gave out a long roar, sprinting forward. The jadette blinked, gulping slightly as she glanced around. She then smiled, looking up. Jumping, she latched onto a tree branch, swinging herself upward and on top of it in a crouch. "Can you still climb trees, old lady?" She smiled with a soft chuckle.

The woman deadpanned for a second before she slowly narrowed her eyes. "What did you just call me?" Her left hand slowly balled up into a fist.

She paused, a slight silence between the two as she debated her next choice of words very carefully. "I... called you an OLD lady." She taunted before jumping up into the higher branches.

She blinked softly, lowering her head just a bit as her right eyebrow twitched. "I'm going to kill her." She spoke to herself, jumping up and grabbing the branch as she pulled herself up with her sole left arm.

As the two jumped between branches, heading higher and higher up, they each traded off blows. And despite the fact Kagami had an extra arm on the woman, the each were striking with the same amount of punches as well as kicks. Near the top of the tree, as the two were exchanging punches and kicks, Kagami seemed to have misplaced her footing. While she did in fact land on a branch, it was far too weak for her weight. As her feet shifted across it, followed by a soft crack which made her glance down. The second she did, her body dropped.

Blinking at where the young girl once was, the woman gave off a sigh while rubbing her face. She quickly jumped back off the branch she was on, her hakama and hair flailing upward as she fell.

On her way down, Kagami hit a few branches, her body spinning and disorienting her as she tried to catch herself to no avail. About halfway down, she gave off a soft grunt as her body came to a stop. Blinking softly, she looked up at the pink haired woman who was holding her in her left arm.

"Call me old again, and I will drop you." She narrowed her eyes.

The jadette chuckled softly, glancing down at the ground below. "Yeah, please don't do that." She rubbed the back of her head, watching as her teammates rushed up.

"Guessing those are your friends, huh?" She asked, tilting her head a bit. "They're a bunch of pussies. Not going to lie."

"Shut up. They are not." She reached up, punching her in the shoulder. "You're just too... too... too mean." She grumbled.

"You mean to strong?" She smiled.

"Shut up." She quickly shot back.

She chuckled back, grinning down at the three girls searching below. "Fine, fine. Let me see how well they do just a little bit more." She held onto Kagami tighter, jumping down. As she landed, a large thud filled the air along with a small uproar of dirt across the ground. Cheyenne, Kris, and Elise each turned around, taking a small step away as the pink haired woman stood with one foot on top of her ninjato shoved into the ground.

"You were looking for me, right?" She raised and eyebrow, tossing Kagami to the side with a smile as the jadette gave off a faint grunt. "Well here I am." She continued to stand on her weapon, her other leg slightly raised as she held up her arm in a taunting posture. "Come at me with everything you got."

Kris blinked, glancing between Cheyenne and Elise who were on either side of her before shrugging. She held up both her duel weapons, placing her fingers on the triggers. The two marksmen doing the same as the took aim.

The pink haired woman simply smiled, her arm stretching a bit as she tilted her head. As Kagami sat up, she chuckled softly, shaking her head as she rolled over, picking up her sword and cleaning it a a barrage of bullets, darts, and Dust blasts struck the woman. A thick cloud of smoke forming around where she stood. As it started to clear, Kagami sheathed her sword, standing up slowly as she stretched her body.

"Is that the best you can do?" The woman's voice calmly slid through the air, making the three girls each flinch. As the smoke dissipated, she was still left stand on her ninjato with one foot. Calmly, she held out her fist, opening it as a handful of bullets and darts fell out. "Doesn't matter. My turn." She jumped down, her left hand snatching up her blade as she darted forward. The loose right sleeve flapping in the wind.

Blinking once, Elise threw her arms down in aggravation. "What the actual fuck!" She hissed, jumping back to miss the sharpened edge of the weapon. Cheyenne did the same as Kris softly growled. He spun her weapons around, changing her grip and holding them like a set of tonfas.

The two began to clash, and despite the woman having one less weapon and one less arm, she was pushing the redhead back with each footstep and movement they took. Seeing this, Elise tossed her air compressed rifle to her back, taking out her baton as she charged forward.

As the three of them began to exchange blows, the woman couldn't help but smile a she had to struggle to hold her ground against the two of them. Even taking a few steps back to regain her footing. Giving a faint approving nod, she jumped back, tossing her ninjato into her mouth with a heavy chomp as she placed her left hand against the dulled side. With that, she darted forward with a wicked smile at the two girls.

Blocking one of the cane weapon and the baton with her blade, she reached over, grabbing the second cane weapon. She pressed a button on it, releasing the curved edge from the straight edge by the chain. Grabbing a hold of the straight edge, she jumped back as she prepared to pull. Remembering what happened last time, the redhead quickly let go of the weapon, letting it fly from her hand. "Ha! Not falling for that again!" She called out.

Smirking with the handle of the blade in her mouth, the woman glanced up, seeing a blast of blue come hurtling at her feet. Sliding one foot back, she let her left foot be encased in ice as she tossed half of the chained weapon into the trees where the blast came from. Cheyenne quickly yelping as the woman tugged back on the weapon, pulling her out.

Seeing her foot frozen to the ground, Elise charged forward, her baton clenched tight in her right hand. Eyeing her, the woman shifted her head, blocking a strike from the baton with her blade. As she did so, she brought her right foot up, wrapping it around her body and sending the brunet straight into the ground with a thud.

Watching the deer Faunus stumble to the ground and stand up next to her left, she retracted the chain on the candy cane weapon, moving her head again as she pressed the tip of the blade up against Cheyenne's throat. As she did so, she brought the heel of the wooden sandal she wore down acros Elise's neck, holding her place as she raise the caned weapon, taking aim to her right as the barrel stopped centimeters from Kris' forehead.

Each of the three girls froze. Neither of them daring to take a single step or more a single muscle. After a few seconds, she scoffed, dropping the cane weapon as she took her foot off Elise. Reaching up and pulling the ninjato from her mouth, she stabbed the ice around her left foot, shattering it as she turned around and started to walk off. "That was fun." She nodded, putting away her blade with a soft click. "Come on, Kagami! I'll make some tea and dinner!"

Still spooked, Elise shook her head while rubbing her face, Kris and Cheyenne both helping her up. "You... you know her?" She asked, greatly confused as her lead stepped up towards them.

"Yeah." She smiled, rubbing the back of her neck with a soft chuckle. "She's the one who taught me how to fight. That's Baren." She smiled a bit more, watching as her three friends stared blankly at her before falling backwards onto the ground with their leg up and slightly twitching.

The jadette simply chuckled some more, closing her eyes as she continued to rub the back of her neck. "Should I have mentioned that first?" Her smile growing.

A little further into the woods, in a small clearing, there sat a wooden table large enough to fit several tools and several different bottles of Dust along with a brewing stand, a tipi with a nearly thirty foot diameter base with thick and heavy hide covering it, and a fire in front of the two. The ember red logs tucked neatly inside a circle of stones as smoke danced of them. Above the heat, several sticks aligned as one stretched across the top, a dark teapot hanging from it. Baren tending to the water inside of it.

"So you... grew up... here? Like here?" Elise asked, pointing at the ground for emphasis. "Like right here. This spot exactly. In the middle of the woods. In a tent. With no one else around you. And no store for food or water." She moved her hands around.

Calmly looking over at her, Kagami gave a solid nod. "Yep. For nearly four years."

Giving a slightly disgusted look, Kris held up her hands as she backed away from the tipi. "Yeah, that sounds completely-"

"AWESOME!" Elise bounced up and down a bit, smiling from ear to ear. "Man, I thought living with papa and mama was awesome on the farm. But living out here!" She waved her arms and outstretched them as far as she could. "That sounds so much better! Minus the Gimm."

"I was going to say awful." Kris held up a hand. "There's no air conditioning. Or mirrors for my makeup. So wrong choice of words there." A shiver went up her spine. "Never will I ever."

"It seems nice and cozy." Cheyenne mumbled quietly before grinning. "You know, as long as no one tries to shoot me for game." She glanced over at the hunter on the team.

The brunet simply rolled her eyes, crossing her arms with a faint pout. "One time. It happened once and now I never get to live it down."

Letting out a chuckle, the jadette shook her head as she made her way over to Baren. "So I bet you're wondering why I'm here." She stood up on her toes, holding her hands together. "You see, the past year and couple months there has been a lot of fighting and weeeeell..." She trailed off, lowering her head some as the woman stood up from the teapot. "I kinda need... more black Dust." She quickly smiled, holding up the two black rings. "You think you can refill them? Pretty please? Baren-Sensai?"

Blinking a few times, the pink haired woman shook her head with a sigh. "Kagami, I swear. I thought I clearly stated emergencies only." She snatched the two rings away, grinning slightly. "You're going to owe me one... therefore, we're going to play our special game."

Blinking once, she deadpanned as her face went pale white. "What." She stated, more so than asking a question. She quickly looked back at her friends before the woman who trained her. "What! No. No! I am an adult now! You can't make me play this game anymore!"

"What game?" Cheyenne asked, her head tilting to the side in the most confused yet also concerned way. "What do you mean by game?" She restated herself.

"Nothing!" Kagami quickly hissed, glaring back at Baren. "You shut up!" She raised and finger and pointed.

"Aw, what? Am I embarrassing you?" She chuckled back. "Oh what ever shall we do. Baren is embarrassing Kagami in front of her friends." She raised her hand up against her cheek, gasping.

Groaning softly. The jadette suddenly started to blush a bit before she lunged forward at the pinkette. "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!"

As the two disappeared in a cloud of smoke, Kris reached up, scratching the side of her head. "What... is actually happening?"

"I have no idea." Elise shook her head, trying to hold back her smile as she watched the actions of her leader.

Cheyenne, doing the same, tilted her head to the side. "I think, they have a very special relationship. But I am greatly confused on it too."

Grunting as she was suddenly pinned with her right arm behind her back in Baren's grip and the woman's knee pressing her down, she shifted around slightly, her left arm trying to push her up and failing. "Get off me!" She shouted.

"Nope." She shook her head, leaning down. "Now you're going to have to say uncle AND play our game." She smirked, watching the jadette let out and scream for a second, even kicking her legs around before she sighed and let her face fall into the dirt.

"Fine... fine." She groaned, rolling her head to the side. "I'll play, I'll play."She rolled her eyes with a sigh. "And uncle..."

"Good." She stood up, releasing her as she picked up a stick. She tossed it around a bit, weighing it as she flipped it around. After a few moments, she nodded and took a single step back before she chucked it as far as she could. Tree branches breaking as it hit them and continued on flying. Looking over at Kagami, she smiled. "Now go get it."

"I literally hate you." The jadette grumbled, glaring at her for a second before she turned around and walked in the direction the stick was thrown. "I'm a freaking adult..."

"Hehehe..." The woman let out, going over to the table as she set the rings down. "You three can sit around the fire if you want. Sorry I don't have chairs. I don't get much company out here." She turned around, watching the three girls each take a spot. After a few seconds, the woman tilted her head. "So you three are Kagami's friends, huh?"

"Yes ma'am." The deer Faunus gave a nod. "I'm Cheyenne. You... you can call me Chey if you want."

"And I'm Kris." The small redhead waved off her hand.

"I'm still confused on who you are-OUCH!" She winced, the redhead nailing her in the side with her elbow. "I mean, I'm Elise." She grumbled, her shoulders slouching.

Baren gave off a small scoff, reaching down and grabbing the teapot off the fire despite it being hot. "I see." She nodded, pouring four cups of tea. "The three of you aren't that bad of fighters, you know." She set the teapot back over the fire, calmly handing out the cups of tea. "I haven't had trouble fighting someone in a long time."

As Elise tried to drink the hot liquid, only to flinch and try again on an endless cycle of failure, Cheyenne let hers rest in her lap as it cooled off. The steam rolling across the sides of the cup. "And why is that?" She quietly asked.

"Well, you see," She sat down by the fire, crossing her legs as she took a sip of tea. The brunet in green glancing at her before glaring down at her own cup. "My semblance is a little special thing." She sighed, looking up at the trees as they blew in the wind. "It makes my skin completely invulnerable. Nothing can cut through it. Nothing can burn it or damage it. It's indestructible." She slowly looked down, eyeing where her right arm should be. "That gives you a big head. And you think you can't lose. That's until you stop watching your aura and it runs out. And you lose the ability to control you semblance as well as a part of yourself."

There was a long pause, the girls each going silent as they stared up at the woman. "But, you know, that doesn't matter." She waved her arm, speaking loud enough to make the three of them flinch back.

"So you're a warrior." Kris slowly nodded, glancing down before quickly glaring up. "Well where were you during the Attack on Vale and the Battle of Beacon?!"

Sighing, Baren simply looked down and took a sip of tea. "I don't fight anymore."

"Then what the hell was that back there when you were FIGHTING us?!" The redhead's voice only rose.

Still as calm as ever, the pinkette shook her head. "That was me making sure Kagami isn't hanging out with a bunch of pushovers. She needs people who are strong and who can stand by her side when things get dark."

"Huh?" Elise gave up on trying to drink her tea, her head tilting to the side. "What do you mean? She's the strongest out of all of us."

Giving off a soft chuckle, the woman raise her head to look at the young girls. "You may think that, but it's not true. She's still a weak a broken little girl. Like the day I found her laying next to a small Ursa and saving her from a much larger Ursa that was trying to attack her on the shoreline. She may put on a brave and bold face, but someday she is going to snap, and she's going to need the best people she can get at her side."

The three girls each glanced at each other, blinking a few times before looking back up at her. Baren slowly shook her head, leaning back. "She's a good kid. Don't get me wrong. And I would never turn down teaching someone to fight." She grinned a bit, chuckling to herself. "Even if that means teaching someone to use a katana in one hand and another in the other." She looked up. "But that doesn't mean I can protect them for life. That's their friends jobs." She raised a finger, pointing. "And I'm not letting Kagami have some pussy ass friends who can't watch her back."

Staring back at her, Elise's head slowly tilted. "I... still don't know how I feel about you."

"You're not the only one." Kris muttered, blinking rapidly. "I have very conflicting feelings about you. You're wise and ol-"

"Don't say it." The pinkette warned, narrowing her eyes.

Gulping, the redhead nodded back. "You are a very wise person, but you act completely crazy and I don't even know." She shook her head.

Slowly raising her hand, Cheyenne nodded a bit. "I agree with everything said."

Chuckling, Baren shook her head as she stood up. "Just don't tell Kagami we had this talk. She'll be returning soon. She's gotten fairly well at finding and retrieving sticks I throw." She turned around, setting down her empty cup as she stepped towards the Dust she had. "And... maybe tell her she could visit more. I don't get much company out here."

Glancing at the two next to her, Elise slowly nodded to them while looking up at the woman with a soft smile. "Of course. We'd gladly."

The following day, as team MACE made their way back to the city of Vale, Elise had her hands behind her head as she walked next to Kagami, both Cheyenne and Kris behind them. "So, why exactly doesn't she just get a prosthetic arm? I mean, think about how much damage she could do if she had two arms." She chuckled a bit, flashing her teeth.

Rolling her eyes, Kagami walked with her hands in her pockets. "It's because she doesn't want to forget the mistakes she's made. She wants to remember them forever as a reminder to herself how badly she messed up. And every day she wakes up an sees her right arm gone..." She trailed off, giving a small sigh before nodding. "It reminds her of that. It also is a way of proving to herself how strong she is. She overcame something very few people can and learned to live with it without any replacements."

"Plus she taught herself to wield a blade like that one handed. Which is kinda super cool." Cheyenne raised a finger, quickly adding her comment to the conversation.

Glancing back, her leader gave off a soft chuckle, shaking her head as she held out her arms and flexed her fingers. "I'm just happy to have these back." She glanced at the two black rings on her fingers. "The come in handy in a pinch."

"Saaaaaay," Kris slid up next to her, her green eyes sparkling as she smiled up at the green haired girl. "You want to, I don't know, teach me to manipulate this black matter Dust whatever?" Her smile only grew as she pushed upward on her cheeks with her hands.

Pausing for a moment, Kagami was hesitant to speak as she looked at the younger girl questionably. Before she could utter a single sound though, she stopped walking. Looking across the edge of the city from a small mountain, several red and blue flashing lights filled the streets as smoke rose up from one of the buildings.

"What in the world happened...?" Cheyenne's shoulders dropped as her brows furrowed.

Reaching for her air compressed rifle, double checking to make sure it was loaded, Elise turned to her friends with a smile. "Why don't we go find out."


	59. All Bark No Bite

Walking down the roads of Vale, team MACE was far more than shocked or confused. Each of the girls had their shoulders rolled back slightly and eyes peeled and wide and the wreckage laying waste to the city. All of them glanced from side to side, almost not believing what the saw before them.

Had Vale City become a warzone once again?

Bullet holes pierced through sides of buildings on the east side of town. The once smooth sidewalk was carved with deep gashes from sharpened blades of steel. Street benches, lamp post, and signs all deformed and mutilated as back streets and alleys held what remained of broken weapons and crimson red. Some dumpsters themselves were being hosed down, smoke still swiftly escaping from its sizzling underneath.

"What... in all of Remnant Happened?" Elise let her brows furrow as she watched a flash of red and blue lights zoom past the group. Her voice hushed and quiet as she spoke softly.

"I don't... I don't know." Kagami took a deep breath, her inhale strong and sturdy, but as she exhaled it grew shakier and shakier.

With her hands folded and resting in front of her face, Cheyenne let her thumbs rub up against her nose as she chewed on her lips. "You guys don't think it was because of those bandits Kagami dealt with earlier, do you?"

"There is only one way to find out." Kris' boots let off a soft clap against the concrete under her feet as she began to stride in front of the others. Her hands balled up in tight fist as her arms swung back and forth. Glancing back and forth between each other for a second, the remaining three gave soft nods to each other before following behind the younger girl.

Surrounded by a line of yellow police tape, a female Faunus with dog ears in a short sleeve black uniform with black pants was leaning on the side of a wall in front of a small shop that sold weapon ammunition. The store's windows all completely shattered. Reaching up to rub her forehead, she gave off a low groan that sounded more growl like as her black hair wrapped around her face. "I can't believe this..." She shut her eyes, inhaling sharply as wrinkles formed between her scrunched up eyebrows. "If the chief would just listen to my leads for two damn seconds..."

She suddenly jerked her left arm around, a faint shadow of white following behind as she caught a pink frosted donut in her hand. Her pointer finger through the center as her thumb kept it held in position. Sighing softly, she rolled her head back, flipping her hair behind her head as she opened her eyes. "What do you want now, huh rookies?" She narrowed her eyes at two younger male cops, taking a bite of the donut.

"Uh, well, you see, the captain ordered us to go get coffee and donuts for everyone." He shakily smiled, holding up a slanted white box of donuts. "S-So we brought you some!"

The second jumped a little, seeing her unamused glare as her Faunus ears twitched against the breeze. "Yeah, yeah." He held up a four cup tray of coffees. "And we also um, were slightly worried about you, Scath..." He trailed off, stumbling and nearly dropping the tray as the first elbowed him in the side.

"You weren't supposed to tell her that! You idiot!" He hissed, his nostrils flaring.

Shaking her head, she took another bite of the frosted treat while pushing herself off the wall and stepping towards them. "What are you two worried about?" Her eyebrows rose.

"Well..." The one holding the coffees looked away a bit, his badge reflecting light from the sun. "You've been up all night. And I know you're a heavy duty senior officer, but you should probably get some sleep. I know you really want to stop all the mayhem but you're no good when you're not even awake." He gulped, glancing up at her as he bit his lip.

Keegan stared at him for a second, finally sighing as she picked up one of the cups from the tray he was holding. "Isn't that what this is for?" She flashed a smile.

"But don't you think you should rest at least a little, Scath?" The one holding the donuts asked.

"Please," The canine Faunus rolled her eyes. "I'll rest when chief stops being a di-" She cut herself off, her head tilting to the side as her dog ears twitch.

"Um, Scath?" The young rookie tilted his head before glancing back as a few shuffling noises were heard down an alley. Like someone was trying to be quiet and listen to their conversation.

"I'll have to take a raincheck on that, boys." Keegan shoved her coffee and half eaten donut into the second's torso, making him stumble back as she took off bolting towards the alley. Her right hand trailing to the holster on her side as she began to undo her weapon. "This is Vale PD! Stand down!" She shouted, turning the corner to see a blur of red, green, brown, and light brown disappearing before following quickly with a groan.

"Lets spy on the police and eavesdrop on their conversation! What could ever go wrong?!" Elise snapped, her feet sliding against the ground as the group made a sharp turn. "We could have just watched the news like normal people but nooo! We had to listen to Kris! And now we're being chased by police because none of you know how to stay silent!" Her face changed colors, a wave of beat red anger washing over her.

"Well not all of us were raised to hunt!" The redhead glared back at her, narrowing her green eyes. "The hardest thing I have ever had to do to get food is walk to the store by myself when I was seven because mother was busy with her friends!"

"Well you know what I was doing while I was six! I was fawning over papa's rifle and shotgun collection! I couldn't wait for grandpapa to get me my first BB gun! So I could shoot birds!"

Sighing while exhaling to catch her breath, Kagami eyed Cheyenne. "They still bicker at important moments." She drew her sword, slashing at a large shelf of crates as they ran passed, letting the weight collapse in on itself to make a barrier before sheathing her weapon.

"Tell me about it..." The deer Faunus was breathing heavily, the group slowing to a stop with their hands on their knees.

"Did we lose her..." Kris raised her head as the four of them looked down the alley that they come from.

"I think so..." The jadette nodded softly, standing up straight before going stiff.

"Freeze!" A voice called out from behind them.

Groaning, the leader of team MACE slowly lowered her head. "We can't fight police... can we?"

"Nope." Cheyenne let out, her head dropping.

Sitting at one side of a metal table, Cheyenne, Elise, Kagami, and Kris were all staring at the female officer dressed in black. Her elbows firmly pressed against the table as her hands wrapped around each other. Silence fell past them, only the sound of a clock's second hand ticking over and over and over and over...

"I ran away from home! I'm sorry!" Kris suddenly shouted, her hands shaking a bit. "Please don't take me to jail! Their meat probably isn't even real meat but I still don't want to eat it!"

"And it was my parents who skipped their taxes all those years! Not me!" Elise's eyes widened. "I'm an innocent victim in all this!" She pleaded.

"And I didn't really join the White Fang by will! I had nowhere else to go! I mean before I left and came here that is! Please I'm not a crook!" Cheyenne held her hands together and lowered her head.

Blinking slowly, Kagami glanced between her friends a few times before she let her head face plant onto the table in front of her. "She didn't even ask us anything..." She gestured towards Keegan. "I can't believe this... my teammates are idiots..."

"Uhhh..." The officer stared blankly at the four girls for a moment before shaking her head. "I don't care about your life stories, you idiots." She pointed towards them. "I couldn't care less about whatever issues you got. I want to know why the lot of you were sneaking around and spying on officials. Do you four girls worg for the BBB or the Fang Gang? Are you spying so you know how much we know so you can report back to your bosses? Huh?"

"Uh, what's the Fang Gang?" Elise raised a finger before quickly pulling it back down at the look she received. The dog Faunus was definitely the one asking the questions here.

"Would you believe us if we told you that we were spying on you so we could help take down the bad guys too?" Cheyenne smiled softly, poking her fingers together.

"You expect me to believe THAT?" Keegan raised an eyebrow.

"Well, it's the truth." Kagami slowly sat upright, locking eyes with the officer.

Staring back, she eventually shook her head. "The four of you are Huntresses in training, aren't you?" Without even letting one of them answer, she leaned back in her seat and slouched as she rubbed her face. "You know, Beacon has been destroyed for months now. Why didn't you four transfer to a different academy to continue your training so you don't get in the way like this?"

"Because Vale is our home." Kris glanced up, swallowing thickly. "We met each other here and grew close together here."

"We have family here. Friends here. And we are not going to leave them behind and abandon them." Elise crossed her arms.

Taking a deep breath, Cheyenne glanced around. "The city is in shambles still. Even after all this time. Crime is still hiding in broad daylight hurting people."

"And if it means not having a special certificate that says we're official Huntresses, that's fine." Kagami leaned across the table. "Because we're going to protect the city of Vale and defend it from any evil we can."

Staring blankly at them, Keegan slowly raised an eyebrow. "Am I supposed to be moved by your little two minute synced speech you just gave or what? Because I'm still feeling the same over here."

As the four girls each let out a sighing exhale, the female officer shook her head and stood up. "You four need to go back to school. Learn a few more things. The real world isn't some fairy tale. I'm not going to help you along the way to get yourselves killed." She pushed her chair in, stepping away to leave. "Your weapons should be at the front desk. And if you're smart, I hope we never meet each other again until years later. Otherwise we might not see each other again at all."

"So what do we do now?" Kris asked as the four left the police station. Her voice much more quiet than usual.

Taking a deep breath, Kagami glanced back at them "Do you guys still want to figure out and try to stop who's all behind this?" She raised an eyebrow. A second of silent and quiet stillness washed over them before the jadette saw three small nods. A small smile stretching across her face. "Then I know someone we can talk to."

Standing inside a small house hidden in the woods of the Emerald Forest, Kris was deadpanning as she stared at a young woman with pink hair and two certain twins with blue and purple hair. "You're kidding me. Please tell me you're kidding."

"Hey, if you need some shady information about crime, it's probably best to ask criminals themselves." Kagami smiled a bit, eying Val, Nihilus, and Thanaton. "I'm ready to call in my favor."

Setting his bowl of noodles down, the blue haired, surprisingly with a few strands of pure white, young man raised an eyebrow. "What is it you need?"

"Well, the Fang Gang is a bit of a long story." Nihilus began to explain, pacing back and forth with a few motions of his hands as MACE sat on the couch in the living room. Both Val and Thanaton leaning on a wall to the side. "Persephone Sanguine is a very... unique woman. She was originally married to a wealthy businessman. The lived in a nice happy home, had a daughter, a dog, and more lien than one could ever need. But one day, her husband was killed. The case went cold. No trace of evidence anywhere. But anyone with a couple brain cells knows what happened." He took a deep breath.

"Sanguine, talked her daughter into killing her father. And she was fine with it. She enjoyed it. And using the skills she learned from her husband and his leftover lien, she built herself a frightful crime circuit. With her at the head and no way to tie her to anything. I've been to their club a lot in the past few years. They have a bouncer named Tohopka Tenebris. A large dark skinned guy who wins every fight he's ever been in without so much a scratch. He is definitely not someone you want to mess around with." He exhaled, shaking his head as he waved his arms around.

"Now, Sanguine's daughter, Katie, she is just like her mother. Wicked, cruel, heartless, spoiled, greedy, selfish, rotten, you name it, the list goes on. She's about as bratty as they come. Always carrying her stupid small dog around. Trying to get closer and closer..." His eyebrow twitched a bit as Kris gave off a small chuckle.

"Awww, it sounds like you have an admirer you don't want." The redhead started to chuckle more before Cheyenne put a finger over her lips, making her go quiet.

Sighing, Nihilus reached up to rub the bridge of his nose. "She also has a new recruit. Some other blonde red eyes woman. I don't know what the deal is with her and blonde hair and blood red eyes but whatever. There is also rumors going around about Dion Ysus joining up with her, but Sanguine hates him. But Sanguine's new alley went off and killed one of the Triple B's members to gain her respect. It worked, but it also brought a whole bunch of chaos along with it. The Triple B isn't going to let them get away unscaved and the Fang Gang won't back down without spilling blood. Basically," He held up his hand before letting it fall. "There is a huge gang rivalry happening. Like the Yin and Yang Gang War that happened in Mistral two or so decades ago. And Vale is stuck in the middle."

Remaining quiet, the group of girls each eyed each other before looking away. "So why is Sanguine's gang called the Fang Gang?" Elise finally spoke up.

"Because of Sanguine herself." Thanaton pushed herself off the wall and stepped towards her brother. "Her semblance is as wicked as her. She bites whoever she wants on the neck and injects this chemical into them. It's like a drug. Their nervous system goes into overdrive and in the end Sanguine eventually has brainwashed whoever she is fighting and can get them to do whatever she wants for the next hour or so. But if she doesn't bite them again after that time, the victim falls into heavy withdrawals. It's like taking someone who uses Speed every ten minutes for a year and immediately taking them off. It's not pretty. But if they can make it through that, they'll be as good as before. That's just if they can handle the aftershock of it"

Watching the group of young girls closely, Val took a deep breath while rubbing her arms. "You four aren't going to go try and stop this, are you?"

"Yes." Kagami immediately responded without hesitation as her jaw tightened. "Yes, we are."

"Well, we can help you." Nihilus spoke up, his expression neutral as he cocked his head.

"Um, no we're not." Thanaton glared up at him, putting her hands on her hips. "No way in hell am I."

"Yes. You are." He glared back, flicking her on the forehead without so much as anyone seeing his hand move from his side up to her face.

Smiling softly, Kagami glanced around at her teammates, her friends, with a growing grin. "I guess we finally have a new mission. No more small stuff once again. Things are about to get real."

* * *

 **Oh hey look. It's nearly another three months hiatus. Whoooops. Where did that come from? I don't know. *falls on ground and just gives up* I really promise no more of that. Sorry. So sorry. I'm feeling a bit better though so I /might/ get back into my regular weekly scheduled posting. So sorry. Much sorry. *bows repeatedly* I'm also super sorry for any awful or mass number of spelling mistakes in this. I felt like writing again and wrote it in less than three hours starting at two thirty in the morning but I'm posting it so whatever. Trash will be trash. Bye!**


	60. Getting Started

On the side of the street, just as the sky began to darken overhead, team MACE along with the Aquilus twins were standing with unique expressions. Cheyenne had both her hands covered over her mouth with wide eyes and brows twitching slightly as she forced herself to hold in a laugh. Meanwhile, Elise was facing the wall of the building, her forehead pressed up against it as she shook her head laughing. Eyes shut and fisting hitting the wall above her head as she did so. And Kris was laying on her back, her knees brought slightly up as she placed her hands together to cover her mouth and nose. Her not so quiet sound of laughter echoing through the air.

With her eyes clenched tight, Kagami stood leaning up against the side of the building. Her left hand raised as she pressed two fingers up against her left eyebrow as her right on twitched. Her expression was the only thing normal about the team's leader at the moment. She had on a pair of knee high boots laced up with green laces and leather straps with small metal studs and a pair of grey stockings with a few tears. Barely covering her thighs was a short black skirt with short chain on the left side. Along with a black crop top with kimono like sleeves down past her elbows. A green yin and yang symbol painted on the front and her nails painted black. And to top it all off, her long hair was braided into two thick braids on either side.

"All of you are lacking brain matter..." The jadette groaned quietly.

"Huh. I thought I did a good job? Don't you, Nihilus?" Thanaton had her arms crossed, glancing up at her older brother with raised eyebrows.

"That's... not the point here." He lowered his head, letting his bangs fall across his eyes as he shook his head. "I'm surrounded by a bunch of stupid teenage girls..." He reached up, pinching his nose.

A little under an hour beforehand, the group of six was sitting inside a small ramen shop around a table talking about the Fang Gang as an old shopkeeper started handing out bowls of fresh and steaming noodles.

"So, this Zucchini lady," Elise waved her arm a bit, quickly slurping down a scoop of noodles as Cheyenne corrected her on Sanguine's name. "She owns some shady club, right?" She waved her fork around. "What if we all just walked inside and scoped out the place?"

"Doubtful." Nihilus glanced up as he picked up his noodles with a set of chopsticks. "She has a very small and tight list. There is no way we could sneak the four of you in with us and past Tohopka. It would be way too foolish." He shook his head.

"Did you guys know they made vegetarian ramen?" Kris mumbled to herself, seemingly in her own world as she poked at the contents of her bowl.

Rolling her eyes, Cheyenne looked away and at the tins. "What about just one of us?" She grabbed some ramen with her chopsticks, slowly easing them down into a spoon with broth before swallowing. "A single infiltrator would be better than none. Even if it's just for a little."

"That might work." Thanaton glanced at her brother, picking up a few noodles with her fingers. "Especially if you take one of them in. I could easily give one of them a makeover too so they could fit in more." She began to grin. "Yeah? Yeah?" She bounced a bit.

"Perhaps. I don't understand why this is necessary but okay. I could just go in myself but whatever..." The dark haired young man let out a sigh. "So who would it be?" He picked up another bunch of noodles as he raised his eyebrows.

Feeling five pairs of eyes look at her, Kagami glanced up from the bowl she had two hands cupped around and was quietly drinking. Swallowing thickly, she set it down. "Huh?" She quietly let out.

Some time later, Nihilus was eyeing a large dark skinned man standing at the single door inside a building. "Here, wait for Tohopka to go inside. He has very specific times for when he uses the restroom." He glanced back at Kagami. "Are you sure you want to go through with this?"

"I mean, I'm already wearing this stupid outfit." She rolled her eyes, crossing her arms. "How hard can it possibly be to pass off as a criminal?"

"Considering you're a good little girl Huntress..." He whispered to himself, watching the large man glance around a few times before quietly opening the door and stepping inside. With his eyes flashing yellow, he was suddenly standing with his hand keeping the door just barely cracked, stopping it from locking. "Come on." He waved her close.

"Show off." She faintly smirked, noticing a few strands of white in his hair as she stepped past him into the club. Once inside, her shoulders rolled back as her head tilted up. "Dang..." She glanced around, staring at a bar three times normal size with three men and three women, all rather beautiful looking with well toned bodies in nothing but golden boxers and ties and golden bras and panties respectively. The entire place fully stocked with more than what all of Vale could drink.

"Don't make a scene." Nihilus hissed, nudging her to follow as he stepped over towards a seating of booths. Each seat carved in fine red leather with perfect stitching. "There is also a grill around back." He added, eyeing the dance floor as several different colored lights flickered and faded before returning. Soft and subtle yet strong hold beats coming from a large sound system and DJ table on the far end of the wall.

"She should be popping up soon." He sat down at a booth, letting Kagami sit beside him.

"Who?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Nihiluuuuus!"

Hearing his name echo throughout the large room, he slouched and leaned back. "Katie."

Stepping up towards the table they were at, a girl with wavy blonde hair and soft brown streaks had her arms crossed. She had on a large fitting white school girl uniform with the top few buttons undone and a red tie that was loosely short sleeves of the outfit trimmed in red and sewn in gold strands. Her skirt was down to her knees and black with a few golden designs sewn into it as well. She seemed cheery and not like someone you would find in a place like this. And even harder to believe she was a stone cold killer. Though, if you stared into her eyes long enough, there seemed to be an unamused glare of nothingness. That was the most offsetting and sent chills down the jadette's spine.

"So you brought a friend?" She eased her way into the other side of the booth, sitting down with her legs crossed. "You know how mommy doesn't like plus ones around here."

"Katie. Help me out here." He held his hand over his chest as he leaned forward with a smile. "I don't have nor will I ever have a plus one."

"Then who's the only girl you've ever brought inside her besides Valentine and your sister? Hmm?" The blonde tilted her head.

The two both internally cringed at the name, making Nihilus freeze up for a moment. At that, Kagami faked a smile as she scratched at her head. "Don't worry. You can have him." She leaned forward, putting a hand over her mouth as she whispered. "He ain't my type. Not that he's not cute, but he's all yours, blondie."

"W-Wait, what?" The dark haired young man glanced around some, sitting up slightly.

"Heh." Katie flashed a smile, tilting her head back with a nod before she started to wave with a pointed finger. "Professional but still know a fine ass guy when you see them. I like that. Could I get you something to drink?"

"Wh-What, no, no, stop." Nihilus waved his hands between the two. "That's enough." He let out a shaky sigh, letting his body relax some. "Thana and I both know about the trouble going on. Valentine," He seemed hesitant on the name. "Knows too. But she's been laying low after The Fall. The two of us found her roaming the streets and thought we could get some lien off her. Turns out she was going to get money off us and not to mention countless others before. She's a damn good thief, and we let her chill with us. And she's heard about what's going down and wants in."

"Hmmm." The blonde tapped her chin, narrowing her bloodthirsty red eyes at Kagami. The young Huntress calmly looking back while raising her eyebrows.

"You know, if you're going to stare at someone, you can at least buy them a drink." The jadette suddenly said, making Katie flinch a bit as she quickly sat up straight.

"B-Be quiet before I call Tohopka to kick you out!" This time, she was the one to fluster up.

Leaning forward, she let her two braids fall on either sides of her shoulders. "I don't think you will." Her eyes narrowed as she smiled. On the outside, Nihilus was staring dumbfounded at the two girls. But on the inside he was having a panic attack. His heart racing as he felt like his lungs were about to collapse. What the hell was Kagami doing?

Narrowing her eyes, Katie glared for several seconds before easing up as she leaned back with a nod. "You have guts. I'll give you that. You remind me a lot like Eri."

"Eri? As in Eri Sin?" Kagami's eyebrows rose some. This time, it was her turn to try and hide the shock of the name.

"Isn't she your mother's new buddy?" Nihilus asked with his head cocked. "The blonde girl that killed that bandit?"

"Yep." She nodded, crossing her arms. "I think mommy really likes her. She even managed to touch Tohopka. She's one of the craziest people I've ever met." She began to grin, almost satanically. "I like that."

Taking a deep breath, the jadette let out an exhale while relaxing herself. "She sounds like an useful ally if you can get her on your side." She bit her tongue.

"Oh she definitely is." The blonde softly chuckled. "But with good help there is always the bad help." She sighed some. "There's this stupid purple haired dimwit that is always trying to get in with mommy. But she shuts him down every time."

"Purple haired?" Nihilus raised an eyebrow. "You mean that criminal that's always on the news because he keeps escaping from prison? Dion I think?"

"Yep. That's him." She nodded.

"Oh man." Kagami rolled her eyes. "I would hate to be anywhere on his attention list. That guy is a weirdo."

"You've met him before?" Katie glanced at her.

"A few times." She waved her hand. "Always flirting while fighting. And wearing nothing else but his boxers because he gets too hot."

"He's such a creep." She brushed her blonde hair behind her ear. "But, he's a creep with a talent." She held out her hand on a small shrug. "He's able to copy handprints and eyes and even voices once he's heard or seen them. It's why he gets out of prison so much. You can't exactly keep someone locked up who has a key to every door in the world. Mine is still cooler though." She started to brag a bit with a proud look on her face. "Like my mommy, I can bite someone. But instead of doing her thing, I can put them to sleep for a while. But the more people I bite the shorter the time they stay asleep. Though it's a little bit hard to do sometimes."

"Really?" The jadette's brows rose. "I never would have guessed that Dion could do that." She purposely left out mentioning about Katie's semblance. That just left figuring out Tohopka's semblance. And the whole purpose for this stupid dress up scheme.

"Neither would have I." The dark haired young man ran his fingers through his shaggy hair. "Sounds pretty useful though. Yours too. Especially in a pinch if you needed to escape." He was going to question why she never told him that before but shrugged it off. It wasn't important and he honestly couldn't care less.

"Not as useful as yours, Nihil-poo." She smiled, her red eyes glimmering as she winked at him. As he rolled his eyes and looked away, Katie looked back at Kagami. "I'm sure you know what he can do, little precious boy." She giggled softly.

"Uh, yeah." She shook her head some. "He's used it to help me get out of a few situations." She added, eyeing him.

"Hmmm." Scratching her chin, she leaned forward. "So you've been chilling with him and his sister, right?"

Glancing at Katie, Kagami slowly nodded. "Um, yeah."

Grinning, she leaned closer. "So does that mean you know where his unmentionables are? His sister won't get me any."

"Okay! That's enough!" Nihilus shot to his feet, pushing Kagami out. "I just wanted to stop by and have you meet my new friend and say hi. We gotta be on our way though. Things to do, little sisters and Valentine to feed. Ya know, the usual."

"Ugh, fine. Whatever." She sighed, leaning on her hand as her elbow rested on the table. With that, she grinned softly and winked at the two as he forced the jadette out. "You two come back soon! I hate how you always make your visits so short! I hate it! Why not stay for a drink or two?"

"Because unlike you, I have to go steal all my lien! Mommy can't give it all to me!" His brow twitched slightly, a vein forming across his right temple. Groaning, he glanced over to see Kagami glaring at him. "Oh shut up. I don't steal all the lien I get." He rolled his eyes, shoving her out the door. "We're never doing this ever again."

"Hmmm." Watching the two leave carefully, Katie reached out to a waiter with a tray of small glasses. Taking on, she swirled the two ice cubes around before grinning. "I like those two." She smirked, drinking the shot with ease before setting it down on the table with a soft clink.

Later on that night, after Kagami had changed back to her normal outfit and the Aquilus twins went home, the team was walking down the streets under the starry night sky. "You know," The leader moved her hands behind her back. "It really wasn't all that bad. It was actually a little bit fun pretending to be a criminal." She chuckled some.

"Everything but that stupid getup?" Elise snickered, flashing her teeth as she reached up to rub her nose.

"Shut up." She shook her head, laughing a bit. "I'm never wearing something like that ever again. And no one is braiding my hair into pigtails again. It's literally so much more wavy than before."

"I'm pretty sure Thanaton braided your hair way too tight." Kris raised a hand and waved it. "It kept curling at the ends."

"It could have been worse, you know." Cheyenne added before smiling and rubbing her antlers as her leader glared at her.

"Don't say that. At all." She let out a quiet breath, moving her hair behind her ear. "I'm sticking with pants and actual boots I can kick people with."

"And not a shirt that shows your stomach?" Elise started to laugh again, shaking her head with a grin.

Letting out a huff of air, she rolled her pale green eyes. "Yes. That too."

"So did you learn any new information while inside that club?" Cheyenne asked, holding her hands in front of herself.

"I... got a lot more than just semblances. That's for sure." She eyed the Faunus before glancing at Kris.

The redhead blinked, tilting her head with a raised eyebrow. "Huh?"

"That woman, Eri, she's... after The Fall it seems she ran to Sanguine's club and is now working for her." She swallowed thickly, licking her lips before biting them.

There was a slight pause, the younger girl's expression fading away before she exhaled through her nostrils, a small grin forming. "That just means I get to settle the score and kick her ass."

Smiling back, Kagami gave a nod in her direction. "I also found something rather strange. I don't know if it's purposely or what, but these three women all have blonde hair and blood red eyes apparently. And each of them uses blood in their semblance: Eri can make an evil double from someone's blood, Sanguine can basically mind control someone with injecting her poison into their blood, and her daughter Katie can intoxicate someone with a bite and put them to sleep for a bit. It's really offsetting. Like the Fang Gang isn't just a coincidental name."

Feeling a shiver go down her spine, Elise moved her hands around to rub her neck. "Yeah, no. I don't like that. At all."

"That, that is really unnerving." Cheyenne gulped some, glancing down at her feet.

"Also, you guys remember Dion?" Kagami glanced around.

"You mean that perverted loser who walked around in his undies and Elise kicked him in his jewels?" Kris raised his eyebrows.

Scoffing some, she went to nodding. "Yep. That guy. He has broken out of prison, during The Fall I'm guessing, and his semblance lets him like..." She moved her hands around. "If he touches your hands, he can shift the molecules in his hand to look exactly like yours. Same with his eyes if he sees yours or if he hears you talk he can mimic your voice too. So security walls don't really work for him."

"No wonder he's always getting out of prison." Cheyenne mumbled, and like on cue, sirens sounded in the distance. The group stopped, all glancing back towards the sound before looking at each other. Giving a small sigh, the Faunus shook her head. "What if that officer is there."

"Then she yells at us for interfering again and sends us back to Elise's apartment since it's too late for children to be out." Kagami flashed a smile at her. "Besides, we're just being nosy citizens. Nothing else."

A couple blocks away, officer Keegan stepped out of her police car before slamming the door shut with a hefty bang. Looking a little less tired than the day before, she reached behind her head and began to put up her hair into a ponytail, holding the band between her teeth. "So," She took a deep breath, glancing around a bit at a taped off building and a few other officers. "What happened here?"

"There was another shootout." A blonde officer with a beard scratched at his facial hair before gesturing to several broken windows on the shop, the light flickering on and off inside. "Luckily, there was no civilian casualties this time. The people inside are pretty badly shaken up from it though." He exhaled softly before crossing his arms. "It wasn't all clean though." He jerked his head towards a few darkened stains on the ground. "Forensics took them in for an autopsy. Though, we all know who they are."

"Someone killed off more members of the Fang Gang? Oh man..." She reached up, rubbing her face. "Did the BBB leave anything behind this time?" She exhales, stepping underneath the security tape.

"Nothing." A female officer with light brown hair shook her head. "There is no way for us to track down where those bandits are hiding. Let alone try to disband an entire tribe. And we can't go after and arrest Sanguine in an attempted to stop all this violence since..." She trailed off.

"I know." Keegan reached into her pocket pulling out a tennis ball that she began to fidget with in her right hand. "As much as I'd like her behind bars, we don't need to deal with that mess again. She would be released in minutes and half of us would be out of a job."

"Man, this bites!" The male officer groaned, kicking the ground. "One group we don't even know where they are and they're basically assassins that live in the shadows who we can't catch!" He tossed his arms up. "And the second we can't even touch without getting in legal trouble ourselves!"

"We just can't bring Sanguine into all this." The second officer added. "But other than her there isn't much of anyone in the Fang Gang."

"There is Tenebris." The dog Faunus glanced up, rolling the green ball on the back of her hand. Her expression fading away into nothingness for a second.

"You know no one can even come within two meters of that brute." The female gulped some, shifting around slightly. "And Chief told you to stop researching him since your S.O. was... you know..." She trailed off again.

"I know what happened to Duane. I don't need to be reminded." The dark haired Faunus sighed, shaking her head as she spun the tennis ball around her fingers. "But he's not going to rest peacefully in his grave till someone takes that monster down. And I plan to do it, with or without support. I'm already getting closer. I think I am finally figuring out why no one can take him down."

"And why's that?" The male officer's eyebrows rose.

"That's for me to know." She slid the tennis ball back into her pocket. "No offense. A duck that can't quack, won't. It's nothing personal."

He glanced at the other officer, slowly nodding as he crossed his arms. "Fair enough, Scath."

After investigating and cleaning up yet another crime scene, the Faunus began to head back to her squad car, only to stop and glare across the street at four girls sitting on a bench. "What do you guys think you are doing?" She exhaled, glaring more as she tossed a few papers onto the passenger's seat where many more papers already were.

"We are being your average citizen." Elise smiled, holding out her arms. "We're just sitting here relaxing and enjoying the night sky." She leaned back, moving her hands behind her head. "Nothing wrong with that, right? Especially since we're just casually sitting here and it just so happens there is an investigation going on in front of us where we can watch."

Reaching up and pinching the bridge of her nose, she looked down both sides of the road before walking across. "You four really don't know when to stop, do you?"

"Not in the slightest." Kagami flashed a small smile.

Shaking her head, the dog Faunus sighed some more. "You're going to get hurt or worse doing things like this." She crossed her arms.

"Or, we could help out a lot." Kris flashed a devious smile as she watched the officer's eyebrow raise.

"We couldn't help but overhear you don't know where the Bad Blood Bandits are hiding out. Well," Cheyenne reached up, rubbing her antlers. "You see, we might know the general area. Not to mention a few details about this Fang Gang you might not know."

"There is no harm in exchanging information, right?" Kagami glanced up.

"I can have all of you arrested for withholding information from the Vale PD." Her eyes narrowed as what seemed to be a canine tooth stuck out from the corner of her mouth. The look giving her a rather growling like look.

"Or, you can have us help you. And in return you help us helpless girls." Elise narrowed her eyes back, crossing her arms. "We're all fighting the same fight here. So why don't we work together? We could accomplish so much. And put an end to both Zucchini and the BBB."

"She means Sanguine." Cheyenne quickly interjected.

Reaching up and rubbing her face, Keegan shook her head more. "Listen to yourselves. You are children. None of you should be anywhere near this kind of violence."

"Where do you think we were during The Fall?" Kris' eyes softened a bit as she looked up.

A small a hushed silence overcame the street, only the sound of wind blowing and cars driving could be heard for a few moments. After a bit, the female officer spoke up again. "This isn't your fight. You should be continuing your training right now. Not trying to fight another war you don't need to involve yourself in."

"We don't need to. We want to." Kagami stood up face to face with her. "Now I know you don't want to for whatever reason, or if it's just because you don't think we can handle ourselves because we're young, but we can help more than you can imagine. All you have to do is let us and we can stop this fight together."

Rolling her eyes, Keegan stared at her before looking away with a roll of her eyes. "If I allow you four to assist me, you have to do what I say when I say. And you cannot under any circumstance run off into the mist of danger and get yourself killed. Understand?"

"Yeah, we're not do good at rule following." Elise chuckled softly, rubbing the back of her head. "Like really really bad at it."

Exhaling, she shook her head while rubbing her palms against her eyes. "The four of you just get in the back seat of my car. I have paperwork at home that might contain useful knowledge to you. As long as you give me what you have in return." She turned around.

"Um, there is four of us and only three seats." Cheyenne raised her hand.

"I don't care." Keegan shook her head. "I have files up front. Make it work."

Stepping out of the police car, the dog Faunus waved a hand at three of four members of team MACE. "Let me go in for a second to make sure everything is in order."

As she walked off, Kagami stepped around back, popping open the hood of the trunk. "So how was your ride?" She smiled.

Growling with a glare, Kris sat up and narrowed her eyes with crossed arms. "I hope you all die in fire."

"Aw, come on. It couldn't have been that bad." Cheyenne reached in, helping her get out.

"Yeah. At least you had leg room." Elise quietly grumbled.

"Hey, did we ever think of how we're going to get back into the city?" The jadette raised an eyebrow, walking up to a quiet brown house with bright green trees all around. "Or is that a later problem?"

"Later problem for sure." Elise nodded.

"That's what I thought." Kagami nodded back, reaching for the door knob. The gears inside clicked softly as she opened the door, only to freeze with her hand still on the knob as a foam dart struck her in the middle of the forehead. "What?" She uttered, closing her eyes as another was shot and hit her forehead again. The dart bouncing off softly and landing on the floor.

Peering over her shoulder, Kris blinked as she eyed a young boy with a green shirt on and extremely dark green hair. "Huh?" Her eyebrows rose as she watched an alligator tail say back and forth and few times behind him. All she could do was flinch though as the sound of the plastic gun cocking filled her ears and a foam dart hit her in the side of the head. Her eye twitched a bit as she leaned forward. "I'm going to kill him."

"No!" Both Elise and Cheyenne grabbed her by the arms, holding her back.

Opening her eyes, Kagami blinked several times while staring at the small boy only to let out an annoyed exhale as another foam dart hit her. "Yeah, can you stop that please?" She reached up, scratching her head?"

Saying nothing, he narrowed his eyes while reloading two more darts into his toy blaster. "DINOOO!" Suddenly echoed, causing him to blink as he lowered his arms down, only to be scooped up by officer Keegan. "I thought I told you that you can't shoot everyone with this." She sighed, staring at him while taking the gun away. His expression slowly softening as he wrapped his arms around her.

"I know, I know, Dino." She moved him around a bit. "I was trying to find you to tell you that people were going to come inside. I'm sorry."

Tilting her head, Kagami crouched down to pick up the foam darts on the floor. "Is he your son?"

"Adopted." She sighed, rubbing the back of his head. "It's a long story. I rescued him while I was still under Captain Duane's eye. He was sold into some slave ring for Faunus. They muted him so he couldn't talk back. It was against protocol, but I got him out of there."

Cheyenne's face softened as she stepped inside the house, staring at the young Faunus and watching his tail move slowly around. "Seems you don't follow all the rules yourself either."

"Not the point." She sighed, carrying him over to a couch.

Looking around, Elise raised an eyebrow at the dozens upon dozens of tennis balls scattered throughout the house. Not to mention the endless amount of files on every flat surface she looked at. "And you know where everything is in here?"

"Yep. It's all organized." Keegan smiled, sitting down on the couch with Dino. "I can find any file for any person or any case I've been on in a matter of seconds." She chuckled softly, smiling as she rubbed the back of Dino's head. "Shhh, don't worry. These people won't hurt you." She nodded softly to him, eyeing the others before motioning for them to sit down.

"You really care for him, huh?" Kris blinked a few times as she sat down.

"Yeah." She gulped some. "My older sister, Auran, she found me on the streets of Mistral a long time ago one snowy night while her family was on a business trip. She talked her parents into bringing me home with them to Vacuo. She did everything for me so I could go to school and even kept all those racist bastards away." She gave a soft smile. "I'm just repaying a kindness that someone did for me. That's all."

Staring back at her for a few seconds, Kagami shook her head softly as she leaned back. "Well, we mainly have information about the Fang Gang right now. We're going to learn more about the Triple B later. Tomorrow though we're going to look around a bit more into the Sanguine. And if you want to join us I guess you could..."

"And why would I- never mind." The dog Faunus shook her head as she reached over and grabbed a tennis ball to fidget with, her canine ears twitching. She let out a small groan. "Fine. Whatever. But first, you tell me what you know? I've been following that witch for years. I'll do the same with what I know."

* * *

 **Whoopsies. That was a little over two weeks not a week. My bad. I got a little bit busy.**


	61. Let's Fight

Laying across her pink fleece covered bed, Katie let out a heavy sigh as she let her head sink into a rather fluffy pillow. Snuggled up against her right hip was her small chihuahua, Coco, her hand gently stroking his back as he breathed in and out. "What is it about her?" She groaned, slowly reaching up and rubbing her eyes. "What could it possibly be?"

"Is something the matter, Miss Katie?" A man in a suit asked, standing at her doorway. He did not need to be here, he knew that and she knew that. The blonde could very much handle herself. But being Sanguine's daughter, she was spoiled to no end.

Letting out a heavy exhale, she rolled over onto her side to look at him. Coco growling softly as he shifted around and nuzzled himself up against her back. "Do you have a girlfriend?" She paused for a moment before waving her hand a bit. "Or you know a boyfriend, or whatever."

Biting his tongue to not groan, he slowly shook his head as he moved his arms behind his back. "Sadly not. There was a few times back in the military but that didn't last very long."

Katie sighed again, brushing her hair behind her ear. "Well, there's this boy who I have had my eye on for years, but he just won't notice me. And earlier he brought another girl over and we sat and talked. But ever since I saw her, I just can't stop thinking about her."

"Jealousy perhaps, Miss Katie?" He raised his eyebrows. "I know if I saw a woman I loved with another man I wouldn't stop thinking about what I'd do to him."

"Un hunh." She shook her head. "That's not it. I'm not sure what to call it..."

"Maybe you found her attractive?" His brows raised more, his voice filling a questioning tone.

She was silent for a moment, thinking quietly to herself before she let out a muffled scream, her face hitting her pillow. "That's not right either! Agh!" Her fingers slowly dug into her comforter.

Hearing a harsh growl coming from Coco, the man quickly took a step back. "Alright, alright. Calm down, Miss Katie. No need to get upset. How about you give me a description and a name, and I could send Master Tenebris out to go search for her. And figure out who she is and everything else you would like. And while we are waiting, I could go get you some strawberry ice cream and have young Eri Sin come in and comb your hair perhaps? Mrs. Sanguine is still busy with organizing a few things."

Sniffing softly, Katie rolled over and slowly sat up while rubbing her eyes. "Yeah... yeah. That sounds nice."

"Good, good." He quietly exhaled as he grabbed the door knob. "I'll be right ba-" He was cut off, the door swinging open on its own.

There, standing in the middle of the doorway was the infamous purple haired criminal dressed in his violet colored boxers. "Guess who's back, bitches?" Dion grinned, holding at his arms as he glanced around. Sweat forming on his body just from standing. "Where is my beautiful blood sucking queen?"

Deadpanning, Katie let her mouth hang open for a moment before she pulled out her scroll and pressed a few buttons while holding it to her ear. "I'm telling mommy you broke into my room again and raped me." She held out her rand, checking her nails as he scroll rang.

"Whoa whoa whoa, I haven't even been here two seconds." He held his hands against his chest. "Don't you love me?"

"No." The guard said plainly, shoving him away before slamming the door shut in his face. Sighing, he lowered his head. "Damn pervert..." He muttered.

After team MACE had left Keegan's home, the dog Faunus let out a heavy exhale as she collapsed onto on end of the couch. At the other end, Dino was sitting with his legs up and toy gun in his lap. Shifting around, he slowly set it aside as he crawled over to her, gently nudging her shoulder as she opened her eyes.

"Huh? What?" She flashed a sleepy smile, reaching up and rubbing his head. "Oh, don't worry about them." She sat up, yawning as she rubbed her eyes. "They won't hurt you."

Staring back at her, he let out a silent sigh before raising his hands and began to sign with them.

Shaking her head, she rolled her eyes and glanced away. "They're just a bunch of kids who think they can help. And we're getting nowhere at the station with this and the chief doesn't even seem to care..." She groaned, reaching up and rubbing her face. "And things are getting worse and worse, so I... I had to accept help. I don't want to because I'm putting their lives in danger, but this has gone on long enough. Too many civilians are getting hurt. Too many people are being killed." She exhaled.

Shaking his head, he reached over and shook her shoulder a bit before smiling softly, his tail waving back and forth a bit as he moved his hands.

Keegan sighed again, reaching over to pull Dino up next to her while rubbing his shoulder. "I can't protect everyone, Dino. I would love it if I could. But at some point if I'm not careful, one of those girls could get hurt or even worse. I can only be in so many places at once."

Letting out a huff of air, he pushed his head into her chest, holding his hands out in front of himself as he motioned one last thing.

Chuckling softly, the female officer flashed a smile with her canine teeth showing. "I've had plenty enough sleep, you dweeb. The purple around my eyes is makeup and a fashion statement. Don't you want me to be one of those cool moms?" She winked, only to laugh softly as he picked up one of the many scattered tennis balls and threw it at her.

The following morning, a couple hours into officer Keegan's shift, the canine Faunus was relaxing in her squad car on the side of the road. Exhaling softly into her cup of coffee, she shut her eyes as steam rolled up and across her face. Setting it down, she reached up to rub her eyes while leaning her head back. "I can't believe you decided to work with a bunch of children..." She let out a quiet groan before her body straighten at the sound of her radio.

There was a couple seconds of static followed by some fidgeting until a female voice spoke through. "Any available units. We have a ten thirty-nine. There is a fight in progress in the five hundredth block of south Wall Street. Suspects are armed and dangerous."

With her brows furrowed, Keegan quickly snatched up her radio, pressing down on a button. "This is unit four twenty-two. Can you describe suspects to me?" There was a silence. Static echoing in the car.

"There are reports of four girls and a man." Her voice suddenly came back on. "Witnesses are reporting him as wanted criminal Tohopka Tenebris. No confirmed sightings though."

Breathing heavily, she reached over with her left hand, buckling herself in as she pressed the button on her radio. "Ten four. On my way." She moved both hands, flicking on her lights and siren at the same time as she docked her radio. She couldn't help but groan as she reached up, rubbing the side of her head. "I hate these girls."

Moments before, as Kagami, Cheyenne, and Kris were walking forward down the street, Elise was walking backwards and facing them. "Okay, okay, but listen. I'm telling you. Zucchini-"

"Sanguine." Cheyenne quietly corrected.

"-bites people on the neck. That's the only way her semblance works. What if, now I'm just throwing this out there," The brunet waved her hands. "What if we all wore metal chokers?" She smiled brightly, glancing around. "Huh? What do you think? Brilliant, right?"

Slowly shaking her head no, the leader of team MACE couldn't help but faintly smile as she rubbed her head. "I think you might want to go back to the drawing board with that one."

"Oh, come on! Why?!" Elise held out her hands.

"Because it sounds stupid maybe!" Kris narrowed her eyes. "Now I like chokers, but this is just stupid!"

As the two bean to bicker, the group walked passed an alleyway. Standing down it a few meters and leaning against a wall hidden in the shadows, Tohopka "Hmmm..." He glanced at his scroll, raising an eyebrow before looking back up. His eyes locked on Kagami. "You match Miss Katie's description yet... you don't at all." He waited a few seconds, standing up straight as he walked out of the alley and began to quietly follow. Eavesdropping on the four girls as they continued.

It wasn't until the brute had followed for several minutes did his shoulders square. Slamming his foot down on the ground, he caused a small shockwave while he pointed forward. "Huntresses!" His voice boomed, causing each girl to stop and glance back at him.

"Huh?" Elise raised both eyebrows, confusion washing over her face. "We... we didn't say any-"

"You don't have to say it, you cowards!" He threw down his arms, his black spiky hair swaying as he puffed out his chest.

Tilting her head to the side, Cheyenne stared at the man. "Um, do you not own shoes? Or shirts?"

Spotting the lion mane wrapped around his waist and lion paws draped over his broad shoulders, Kris' brow twitched slight. "Can I punch him?"

"Nooo." Elise quickly raised a hand, holding it in front of the redhead's chest. Sighing, she looked up at the dark skinned man with dozens of tattoos. "What do you want sir-?"

The young farm girl was cut off, the sound of her leader literally dying of laughter filling the air. This made the three girls each step back, watching as Kagami hunched over with her hands on her knees. "You look so stupid!" She suddenly shouted, her friends taking another step away with wide eyes.

Suddenly flustered, Tohopka's black eyes glazed over as he snarled. "You d-damn... who the hell learns to write in Vytal symbols anymore!?"

"Huh?" Elise let out, her voice quiet and high pitched.

"That guy's tattoos!" The jadette slowly stood up straight, chuckling some as she rubbed her eyes. "It's written in a ancient writing that's native to Vytal! He literally labeled the parts of his body just in an ancient language."

"Oh." Kris blinked, tilting her head as she watched the man become more flustered.

Cheyenne did the same, faintly laughing to herself. "You know, originally, those looked pretty intimidating. Now they really don't at all."

"Heh." Elise stared for a moment before she too burst into laughter. "What?! Did you think you would never meet someone who could read those?!"

Growling, Tohopka flashed his teeth as his eyes darted to Kagami who was still snicker. "I know see why Miss Katie couldn't stop thinking about you. She was right to question your place. And now I see why..."

"Um, guys." Cheyenne took a small step back. "I think this is that big bad body guard that Sanguine has."

"Ohhh crap." Kris' expression faded from her face as her arms dropped. "I guess maybe infiltrating isn't our thing."

Stepping towards them, the dark skinned man cracked his knuckles before popping his neck. "I am going to bring you back to Madam Sanguine in pieces." He snarled, suddenly lunging forward with great speed.

Blinking ones, Kagami reached behind her, drawing her sword and holding it in a reverse grip as she stepped in front of her friends, blocking. But somehow, it didn't work at all. Halfway through her motion, Tohopka changed his. He dropped down, sliding his left leg underneath hers to throw her off balance as he brought his right leg around, striking her torso and sending her off to the side.

Watching as the jadette slid to a stop on her knees and the people in the area begin to run off, Elise growled to herself as she pulled out her baton. Tohopka eyed her for a second from the corner of his eye, smirking to himself. The brunet bringing her right arm around to strike, only to watch as he casually ducked down in the nick of time.

Bringing her left knee up to hit him in the jaw, she merely stumbled as he grabbed her right ankle, pulling her off her feet. Bringing his right arm down, he rammed his elbow into her stomach, sending the young farm girl crashing into the ground as he stepped back to look at the redhead.

Kris had both weapons in her hands, both her arms behind her as she ran towards him. Staring at her like he was sizing up her movements, he smiled and took a few steps towards the road. The young girl taking one last step before she threw the curved edge of her weapon by the chain at him. A perfect shot to his left arm. It wrapped around his forearm, the chatter of chains tightening hitting Kris' ears as she pulled back on her weapon. Expecting him to fly towards her, she stumbled and grunted as nothing moved.

Tilting his head to the right, he pointed back with his right hand at a lamp post that was perfectly lined with his left forearm, the chain locking them both together. "Seems you caught something else." He grinned, grabbing the chain with his right hand. Waiting for him to pull on it, Kris was prepared to let go and let her weapon hit his face. Though, he never did.

"What? Do you think I'm that stupid?" He shook his head, loosening the chain just enough to get his arm free before bolting forward. Still looking at Kris, he suddenly stumbled, a blast of ice Dust hitting his right foot. "Damn it." He stopped in his tracks, looking around. "I forgot about the fourth one."

Cheyenne's heart fluttered a bit as he locked eyes with her, making her gulp. This time, she took aim again, her rifle set to red. Not even halfway between her moving her finger and squeezing the trigger, Tohopka was already on the move.

He shattered the ice around his foot, but instead of continuing forward, he stopped dead in his tracks and let the blast of fiery red Dust explode in front of him. "You were aiming for what now?" He teased, watching a look of shock come from the sharpshooters face. How did he know not to keep moving forward?

Hearing footsteps behind him, he turned around to see Kagami running across the street towards him. He stood still for a moment, letting her get closer before he side stepped, her blade barely missing his face. It was close enough he could feel the wind rushing past it. "Charge and slash? Really?" His brows rose as he grabbed her right wrist. "Don't you have any original moves?" He brought his foot up, nailing her in the side and forcing her to release her weapon as she was pushed away.

Quickly turning around, he threw the sword in the direction of Cheyenne. The weapon lodging itself into a car she was next to. Startling and making the Faunus stumble even more. "This is too easy!" He roared, turning around to glare at Kris who was running towards him with only one candy cane weapon.

Growling, she gritted her teeth while tightening her grip around her weapon. "That's enough! You stupid-"

"Bastard? Now that's not a very nice word to think about calling some." He chuckled, watching the confused expression on her face. With that, he lunged himself forward grabbing a hold of her neck. As she struggled and kicked, he shook his head. "You have a very vulgar mind to think of such words." He tightened his hold, turning around as he threw her.

The redhead's body slamming into Elise who was stumbling to her feet only to be pushed back down with a grunt. Groaning, she sat up and rubbed her head while look at Cheyenne. "What are you doing?! Shoot him!"

"I... I can't." The Faunus took a small step back, biting her lip as he stepped towards her.

"What do you mean you can't!?" Kagami stood up, one hand wrapped around her torso. "You hit forty out of forty moving targets each time we go to a practice range!"

"I... I don't know! Okay!" Panic filled her voice as she turned to the side, placing her hand against the side of the wall. Tohopka immediately backed away, even before the shop began to crumble and fall. Only a few pieces falling on him before he backed away enough. Running on top of the small pile of debris she made, she jumped over the brute, landing and rolling into a crouch before standing up on one knee between Kagami and Kris.

"Hmph." Tohopka turned around, facing the four girls. Slowly, he began to walk back towards them.

Coming within a few meters of them, he stopped to the sound of sirens. A few seconds later, a police car came to a screeching halt on the side of the road. Quickly stepping out, officer Keegan was glaring with cold eyes as she stepped between him and MACE.

Scoffing, the dark skinned man crossed his arms while pushing out his chest. "Now what do you think you're going to do? I've killed plenty of your kind." He began to grin. "I've killed a close one of your kind too."

"And I've figured out your secret." Her jaw tightened as she glanced back at the four girls. "Are you okay?" Seeing them all nod, she looked back at Tohopka, his eye twitching slightly as he balled his hand up in a tight fist.

"What... what does he do?" Elise quietly asked as she stood up.

"He _thinks_ he's all that because he has muscles and speed. He _thinks_ just because he's killed more people than bones he has in his body he's on top of the world. He _thinks_ he's intimidating because people are afraid of him. But I know the truth." She narrowed her eyes as she began to put up her hair.

"I'm going to rip your beating heart out..." He gave off a sicken snarl.

"Huh?" Kris tilted her head, retrieving both her weapons.

"He has the ability to read the mind of the person he is looking at." She glanced back at them. "He knows what move you're going to make the second you think it. Even before your body has time to respond to your own thoughts. And he counters it. Every time." She looked back at Tohopka. "But that ends today."

The dog Faunus reached into her pocket, pulling out a red bandana and tying it over her eyes. "Four years ago you killed the Captain of the Vale PD in cold blood. And for that, I seek retribution." She pulled the knot tight, lowering herself blind folded into a stance.

"Well tell him hello for me when you see him!" He shouted, charging towards her. He brought his left arm back, throwing a punch in her direction. Though, her body slid away, a white shadow following behind her before disappearing. He scoffed, sending a kick followed by another punch. The same actions repeating themselves an irritating look began to grow across his face. He groaned, pulling out his scroll and pressing a few buttons. "Madam... we have some issues."

Slowly shaking her head, Elise glanced at her friends. "Hold on, what's happening?"

"I think... I think that Keegan isn't thinking as she fights?" Kagami raised an eyebrow. "Do police officers normally have semblances?"

"Normally they become Huntsmen or Huntresses." The brunet muttered.

"So what does she have then?" Cheyenne raised an eyebrow. "Her body is moving without thinking? That's sort of like an ultra-" She was cut off.

"Copyright!" Kris snapped, waving her arms. "Can't use that!"

"Well what about mastery of self move-" Kagami started, holding out a hand before being cut off as well.

"Nope! That's taken too!" She held up a finger.

"Then what are we supposed to call it?" Elise groaned.

Kris shrugged, looking around. "Just moving without thinking. I mean, she blindfolded herself. If she can't see what he is doing, she won't think of ways to counter him. Which won't allow him to read her mind and to counter her counter. So her body just sorta moves on its own when it senses danger or a threat or something. I guess... that's what that white shadow coming from her is for." She blinked a few times, eyeing the officer who easily dodged between blows.

"Well, if he's focused on her, we can help Keegan out and strike him down." Kagami eyed her friends as she stepped towards where her sword was lodged into a car, yanking it out.

"Not so fast." A demonic voice sent chills down each girls spine as they turned and looked behind. Standing there with a hand on her hip, Sanguine kept her eyes locked on the leader of team MACE. "And to think, you pigs are actually causing him trouble." To her right, Katie had her arms crossed, coldly glaring with her dog in her arms. To her right, Eri licked her lips, staring at the young group of girls. And behind them, Dion seemed to be bouncing for joy as he looked around in purple cargo shorts and his black gloves.

Sanguine sighed, rolling her eyes at him. "Scatter them." She demanded, eyeing the two blondes who both nodded back to her.

Jumping back and away from sharp ice shards raining down upon her, Cheyenne gritted her teeth as she skidded backwards to a stop with her right hand placed on the ground. Quickly looking up, she barely had time to catch her breath before ice spikes shot up from the ground, forcing her to retreat to the side in a stumbling lunge.

"What? Too fast for you, you pretty little thing?" Dion whistled, stretching out his fingers as he wiggles them around. The ice Dust filled pockets on the back of his gloves glowing a bright blue. Licking his lips, he watched as she regained herself. "You know, I think I want some venison tonight." He smirked, bolting forward.

Growling softly, the Faunus had her eyes shut for a moment as she tightened the grip around her weapon. "Why are you such an idiot!?" She shouted, her face going red for a moment. Raising her arms, she took aim, blasting away ice balls with red Dust shots. The explosions creating a fog like steam to wash across the two.

"Shit." Flipping his purple hair from his face, the icy villain glanced around with squinted eyes. "Aw, come on! Show yourself! Coward!" He looked around quickly, hearing the sound of a rifle firing before grunting heavily as his shoulder to elbow was encased in ice from a heavy impact of Dust.

Giving off a battle cry as the steam faded, Cheyenne came down with both her feet colliding with his chest, sending him backwards and into the ground where the ice on his arm shattered like glass. As he gasped for air, she raised her rifle again, switching the gear to a purple mixed with black color. Taking a deep breath, she slid one foot back, firmly planting herself in place as she gently squeezed the trigger. The recoil of her weapon once she fired making her grunt softly.

Rolling onto his side and blinking a bit, a few strands of hair fell across his eyes as he spotted a purple and black blast coming at him. "Damn it!" He hissed, quickly bringing his right hand upward with a flick of his wrist, an ice wall forming and protecting him. Though once struck, the barrier exploded into small fragments, each levitating in the air with gentle movements.

Exhaling heavily, she let her shoulders roll back a little before dropping as her brows furrowed. As Dion rose to his feet chuckling, she change the lever on her rifle, setting the Dust back to red. Though once there, she didn't remove her hand from the it. Instead, she quickly switched it to yellow and locked it in place.

Scoffing, the purple haired man shook his head, running his fingers through his hair. "You know, you almost had me there for a second. Let's not do that again, missy." He shook his finger. "No more fooling around." He ran forward, his gloves glowing blue as a pair of ice claws formed around his hands.

Gritting her teeth, the deer Faunus began to step back, dodging each of his swings as he came closer and closer. As he brought both his arms back, she took a deep breath, sliding underneath his legs just as the ice claws clashed together. Quickly standing back up, she rushed over into the field of low gravity ice shards, striking a window of the building next to her as pieces of glass fell to the ground. "Sorry." She quietly whispered, looking back up at Dion as he gave her a confused look.

"You think some fear of cutting my feet will stop me from getting close to you?" He raised an eyebrow, reaching down and touching his feet as a set of icy shoes formed, followed by covering his fist in ice like boxing gloves. "You're nothing but a stupid girl!" He ran forward, Cheyenne struggling to dodge between blows until his foot caught her chest, sending her out of the small anti gravity field.

Coughing as she sat up, she didn't even bother standing as she took aim with her rifle. "Sure. Stupid..." She exhaled, smiling softly as she began to squeeze the trigger to fire.

Cocking his head to the side, Dion eyed her weapon to see it marked on yellow only to suddenly freeze. "Oh shit..." He glanced around him, the shards of ice melted into water from the broken glass on the ground and the sun. Groaning, He went to encase himself in ice, only too quickly look at his gloves. The Dust reserve empty on both. With wide eyes, he quickly fumbled through his pockets, attempting to reload his gloves but too late.

An electrified blast shot one of the floating masses of water. Sparks instantly dancing from it to the next and so on until the entire area was covered. Soon enough, Dion could be heard giving off a scream, his ash covered and blackened body falling face first onto the ground as a puff of smoke escaped his mouth.

As the fight between the Faunus and the purple haired criminal began, another fight began to brew. This one between two arch enemies. A young, rebellious, redhead girl from Beacon pit up against a demonic blonde who wishes for nothing more than bloodshed and previous two times the two had met, the odds were greatly in the latter's favor, but this time, the scores were about to be set even. This time, Kris was prepared.

Letting out a wicked screech, Eri Sin flicked her wrist as three incredibly sharp needles shot out like claws from either of her gauntlets. Keeping her fingers spread wide, she bolted forward with immense speed. She began to grin, flashing her teeth as her hands balled up into tight fist and she jumped into the air for a downward strike.

With her breath hitching, Kris jumped backwards to dodge, holding her caned weapons like tonfas. She watched the blonde strike the sidewalk harshly, seeing cracks begin to form from the impact before she shot to her feet again in a mere instant and charged again. Quickly sweeping the area, she dodged and rolled to the right, rising back up as fast as she could before ducking back inside an alley way.

"What? You think you can hide from me?!" Crazy began to flash over her red eyes as she stepped around the corner. Spotting movement out of the corner of her eye, she raised her arms and interlocked her blades to stop a downward slash of Kris' weapons with their blades extended. She smirked, slightly amused as she threw her arms down and sent her foot forward into the younger girl's chest. "This is where you finally die!" She shouted, sliding her blades together before running forward.

On her knees, she glanced up and quickly spun her weapons into a reverse grip while standing up. Gulping slightly, she crossed her arms and shielded her face. Slash after slash descended upon her from the weapons so sharp they could slice straight through aura. There was no easing up, no sense of mercy, no regret.

Eri attacked with all she could, only jumping back and retreating once she began to softly pant. Still smiling like the devil, she let out a quiet and hushed chuckle and she jabbed her weapons into the ground. "I'll let you finish yourself off." She snarled, only to blink once in confusion as her summoning circles didn't appear. Pulling her blades from the ground, she moved them around only to notice not a single spec of blood was on them.

"Do you really think I would fall for those stupid gauntlets a third time?" Kris asked, standing up straight with torn and tattered clothing. Her fedora covering her eyes. "I've been waiting for this moment for a very long time." Pulling off her red trench coat by the collar, she flicked her wrist and sent the dozens of toys hidden inside it flying onto the ground scattered. After that, she dropped it, letting it fall to the floor as she reached up, pulling off the shredded remains of her sweatshirt and sweatpants.

Underneath was what appeared as a metal armored motorcycle jacket and pants colorized with red, green highlights, and black underneath. "You think you're so fancy with your special little blades that cut through everything. Well, news flash," She twirled her candy cane weapons, green eyes locking with red eyes. "There is barrier Dust lined all throughout this outfit. And with my aura igniting it, it makes your puny little blades just like normal ones." She reached up with her thumb, flicking her fedora off her head. "This is the part where I kick your ass."

Staring for a moment, the blonde's face slowly changed from pure wicked to a heavy and ragefully anger. Growling like a Grimm, her hands tightened into fist so tight her veins could be seen on the back of her hands. "You young, ignorant, bitch!" She hissed, flicking her wrist as her blade retracted. She then began to throw punches, projectile needles zooming through the air.

Smirking, she raised her left arm and extended her pointer and middle finger while still holding onto her weapon. Moving those two fingers upward, a few tiny helicopters and toy planes gained red and green glows as they began to rise from the ground. She quickly threw her arm, the small trinkets colliding with the projectiles and causing a small explosion.

Losing her usual cool, Eri flicked her wrist underhanded and outward. Two needles attached to wired shooting out and lodging themselves onto either side of the redhead. She took a deep breath, jerking her body forward as she was sent hurtling through the air at her.

Eyeing both wired, Kris immediately went to twirling her weapons. The bladed extensions coming down and slicing away at the wire. Know she had no way to stop herself now, she dropped down and slid underneath her opponent, retracting the blades on her weapons as she fired several shots into the blonde's torso, sending her into the air and back down into the ground coughing and stumbling. "Had enough?" She narrowed her eyes at her.

Breathing softly in and out of her mouth, she glared coldly back at her and flicked her wrist. Her claw like blades extending once again. "This isn't even close to over..." She snarled, her upper lip twitching. In the distance, the muffled cry of a sorry to say criminal pierced her ears, making her roll her eyes before she lunged forward.

While one half of team MACE was having some good fortune with their fights, the other half of them definitely weren't having the same luck.

Setting her dog down at her feet, Katie slowly shook her head while standing across from Elise on the sidewalk just adjacent from where Dion and Cheyenne were beginning their fight. "I should have know the second I saw that green haired freak where her heart really was." She muttered, pulling out two tanto sized wakizashi. Both of them carved from Grimm teeth with artistic marks etched into them and lined with power Dust. The blades of both weapons heavily serrated. "It's a good thing I sent Toho out here. Who knows what would have happened. She could have corrupted my precious little Nihil."

"Sure." Elise slowly nodded, keeping to herself the true intentions of the young man. Biting her lip, she glanced around. She couldn't help but feel sorry for her. She was thrown into a raised into evil like Nihilus and Maya both were. And she could find their good nature, so why not her as well. "Listen, you know, you know you don't have to do all these horrid things your mother says, right?" She took a step towards her, holding her baton tight in her right hand.

"Huh?" The blonde young lady raised an eyebrow, glancing down at her dog before looking back at the brunet. "What in Remnant are you talking about?"

"I'm just saying." She smiled her usual smile. "My friends and I have helped someone escape from evil before. We can do it again. You don't have to keep doing all these awful things. You could come with us. And we could find you a nice little place away from all this chaos?"

Blinking a few times, she stared at her blankly before she scoffed, the sound slowly fading away into a chuckle. "You, you really think I would just leave? Because I'm _young_ and was _forced_ into killing my old man? Oh boy, you truly really are a naïve little girl who didn't even get to graduate." She shook her head softly.

With her brows furrowing, she brushed back a few strands of her brown hair behind her ear. "What? Why would... listen. We can help you out of this. Let you grow up to who you want to be. You don't have to keep up this whole evil act anymore."

"Oh, but it's not an act." She spun her duel weapons around, slowly pacing around her. "Do you honestly think I would be wanting to do anything else but this? This is the real world, not a fairy tale, so wake up and smell the dead roses. Just because you want to be a Huntress doesn't mean you'll get to go to an academy because you're so talented and love what you do. And just because someone is a Huntsmen doesn't mean they won't turn around and rape and kill someone someday. The world is cold and unforgiving. It's never done a single thing to help benefit my ambitions, and even has the nerve to punish what I love to do. Good does not always win.

"Though, honestly, there isn't even a thing as good and bad. It's all a made up lie and twist of truths and opinions. It's a concept. A figment of your imagination. Morals don't even exist. All they are is little facts you are raised to believe. They don't even matter. If something is good, then it preserves what you believe. If something is bad, it destroys it. That simple. And everyone has different beliefs and morals, making multiple possibilities of good and bad out there. Which in a sense, makes everything you do is good, and everything you do is bad.

"So you can go on ahead and play this hero, but just know, just because you're special, doesn't mean something special will happen to you. People are dying every second, but you don't seem to be trying to help any of them or supporting their loved ones. Family members all across Remnant are ill and dying, and despite how much their families pray, they still end up suffering as they die. And in the end, when humans and Faunus have had their run, when everything has finally turned to ash, it won't matter how good you were or how many lives you saved. Nothing will matter as our existence fades away into nothingness. So in that case, why don't I just have a little fun?"

Staring back at her with the most confused yet concerned look in her eyes as her brows furrowed, Elise swallowed thickly as she gripped her weapon and balled up her fist. "How... how can you even think like that? Who could have possibly hurt you so much that you would think like that?"

"No one hurt me." Katie smiled, scoffing as she rolled her shoulders back. "The day I felt my old man's heart beating in my hand and his warm blood spilling across my arms simply opened up a few doors in my mind and helped me see a few things clearer. It doesn't matter what I do, nothing matters, and nothing ever will."

Taking a few steps away, the brunet gulped, her hands trembling slightly. How could someone be such a monster? It didn't make sense to her. How could someone even think like this?

"What? Do I have you startled?' She purred, chuckling softly as she licked her lips. "First, I think I'm going to kill you and let Kagami see your remains before doing the same to her. How does that sound, sweet heart?"

Feeling a chill rush down her spine, she exhaled with a shaky breath, lowering her head as she closed her eyes. "I would never let you..." She mumbled, disappearing into a cloud of smoke.

Raising an eyebrow, the blonde watched as the smoke faded away to show no trace of her. Blinking once, she cocked her head to the side before hearing her dog yap behind her. Smirking, she spun around, bringing both her short blades in a downward slash.

Elise yelped, quickly jumping back just as one of the blades slid across the arm of Kagami's hoodie she was wearing. Thankfully, the material keeping to its name as it came out of the attack without a scratch. Same as the brunet.

"Oh? What is it, dandy lion?" Katie spun her weapons into a reverse grip, sprinting forward. Her body shifting from side to side without a pattern, her movements reckless as she took swing after swing.

Happy with her agile state, she went from blocking one wakizashi to the next with her baton. The sharp serrated bone sometimes biting deep into the hand to hand combat weapon only to be roughly jerked out and suffer another heavy blow after another.

The two seemed rather evenly matched, movements somehow lining up just in the nick of time. Both of them waiting for the other to slip up just for a second so the other could take the lead. But none of that happened. Instead they kept going. Blow after blow, deflect after deflect. A never ending cycle until...

Katie's small brown chihuahua's, Coco, teeth suddenly sunk deep into Elise's ankle, making her scream as she stumbled back, the dog's jaw still locked onto her leg. "That's my boy." Katie smiled, nodding to herself before quickly taking several swings at Elise's torso, sending her back as her dog released it's bite and walked back behind his owner.

Heavily coughing, the young farm girl pushed herself to her knees, struggling to catch her breath. "Man... Kagami was right... you really can feel the force of the blows even if it doesn't cut through..." She groaned softly. She then gasped, feeling a hand grab her neck and pull her up.

"This may sting a bit." The blonde smile, pushing her head to the side to open up her neck. Giving the brunet no time to respond, she bit down on the soft and tender part of her flesh across her neck, letting her teeth sink in as she watched the girl slowly close her eyes and fall limp. Dropping her onto the ground, she put one of her knives away, kneeling down beside her with one of her weapons in her right hand in a reverse grip. "Hope you have some good dreams." She teased, grabbing the blade with both hands.

Before she could plunge her hands downward, a blast of heavy wind shot the weapon from her hand. Blinking, Katie slowly stood up while raising an eyebrow at a deer Faunus. "Excuse you. You're interrupting me."

"Good." Cheyenne raised her rifle, switching it from a green to a darker blue. "You can keep your hands off her." She fired another shot, striking the blonde's hand again and encasing it in ice.

As her teammates each fought their own separate battles, Kagami was pushed back farther into the back streets of the city. Rolling from a dodge only to quickly block in a kneeling position before pushing back with her feet and jumping away from another slash.

Not even so much as bother to talk, Sanguine held a long saber in her right hand along with a short dagger of similar design in her left. She would calmly bring the larger blade around, forcing Kagami to block with her sword before making her retreat with a swipe of her smaller blade. Each motion swift and elegant, almost like she was dancing with each step she took.

Exhaling through her nose, Kagami narrowed her eyes and switched her grip from hammer to reverse as she ran forward. Quickly side stepping to the woman's right, she jumped on top of a car, quickly sliding and circling around her as she sliced at her feet.

The blonde woman stumbled, falling backwards. Releasing her weapons, she caught herself with her hands behind her back. Immediately bringing her feet back underneath her as she grabbed both the dagger as saber. Seeing she was going to need one hand free, she pressed the two hilts together and twisted, bolts interlocking as they connected. Keeping the shorter blade on top and the longer blade on bottom, she ran forward, slashing upward.

Gritting her teeth, the jadette presses on the blade of her sword as she blocked, using the momentum of the blow and her own strength to haul herself up and over the woman with a quick swing.

Letting her swing follow through, she spun the double sided weapon around and moved the longer blade behind her back. Blocking the younger girl's strike before jumping forward a few steps and turning around. "You know, you're not half bad with that sword." She stood up straight, swapping out the blades in one quick twist as she held it behind her back with her right arm down.

"Wish I could say the same for you." Kagami muttered, lowering herself into a low stand as she readjusted and tightened the grip on her sword.

Nodding, she smiled slightly. "I can see why my daughter couldn't stop thinking about you. You obviously don't look like a hero, but you definitely have the heart and soul of a Huntress."

"Guess I should take that as a compliment?" She cocked her head while raising an eyebrow.

"Only if you wish." She grinned back, staring at her as the two fell into silence. Quietly waiting to see who would attack first.

A soft breeze brushed across the city street, blowing leaves and trash as the two kept eyes locked. In the distance, a few birds could be heard crowing followed by a rustle of trees as they flew off. In that moment, Sanguine took two quick steps forward, slashing upward with the long blade as she reversed her grip, bringing it downward after.

Kagami blocked both strikes, the metal grinding against metal with small sparks. Exhaling, she moved one foot back, using her strength to strike vertically. As the woman blocked it, she twisted her body around, sending her foot into her chest.

Grunting softly, the blonde skidded back on her feet, glancing up with a slow nod and a smile. This time, as she lunged forward she went for a jab with the shorter blade, the jadette narrowly missing it as she jumped back. Following through with a downward strike which the two interlocked weapons at.

Shoving her back as hard as she could, she let out a huff of air, taking several quick steps towards her as she shot her Celtic sword forward like a spear. The woman simply stepping to the side as she turned around the blade and drove her elbow into the side of the young girls head.

Watching her stumble away, Sanguine separated her two weapons. The saber in a hammer grip in her right hand and dagger in a reverse grip in her left hand. "A few more years of training and you might actually pose a threat." She started to walk towards her, her hips swaying.

Shaking her head, Kagami blinked a few times as she looked up, quickly stepping to the side as the saber blade came centimeters from her face. With her back turned to the blade, she stepped back up towards it, outstretching her arm and resting it against Sanguine's neck. "I should be treated as a threat."

"Duly noted." She nodded back, eyeing downward to her left hand that held her dagger close to her side. Seeing the jadette's eyes trail to it, she began to smile. Even more so as the younger girl began to pull away. Sanguine doing the same as she stepped back.

"You know, you're definitely not like all the stories I've heard about you." The younger muttered, slowly walking in a circle as did her opponent. "You at least seem to have some sense of honor when fighting."

"You have me wrong. All wrong." She twirled her weapons around, putting away the saber as she switched the dagger to her right hand. "I'm nothing but a monster. I'd rather win on my own than have both of us stabbed."

Sighing slightly, she shook her head while gripping the hilt of her sword tight. A second later, she was running forward and jumping into the air, coming down with her sword above her head. Her arms coming down heavily only for her blade to strike concrete as she side stepped away.

The older woman wasted no time, slicing at the girl's aura on her wrist and making her release her weapon just as she brought her left foot up and struck her in the side, sending her stumbling away.

As Kagami regained her footing, she was met with a hand around her neck, shoving her up against a wall as the tip of the dagger pressed up against her abdomen. With one eye shut, she grinded her teeth while glaring forward.

"I told you. I'd rather win on my own terms. My way." Sanguine smiled, forcing the jadette's head to the side as she slowly sunk her teeth into her flesh.

Grimacing, her entire body tensed up in pain as she fell to her hands and knees, her limbs trembling as her eyes shot opened wide. With her breath hitching, she felt her vision twisting. This was bad, and she knew it. All she had to do was keep this woman away from her neck and seemingly failed at that.

Groaning, she closed her eyes just as a small flicker of hope flashed through her mind. Slowly reaching up with a shaky hand, she grabbed the bleeding part of her neck with her left hand, her fingers digging into her skin. The markings on her arm slowly began to glow, the fabric slowly chipping away and falling off. Gasping, her body fell to the ground, her breathing heavy.

With raised eyebrows, Sanguine blinked a few times before groaning as she put her dagger away. "I don't know what you just did, but that's not happening again." She reached down, grabbing her left arm and pulling it behind her as she kneeled onto her back. "You can struggle all you want, but that iron will of yours is what's going to let you be mine."

Too exhausted and drained from suffering from the blonde's semblance, not to mention using hers, Kagami couldn't even put up a fight back. All she could do was lower her forehead onto the concrete, trembling as she felt a set of fangs pierce her skin again.

Watching as his boss and allies appear and scatter the four girls, Tohopka couldn't help but faintly smile with his beastly teeth while panting softly. "That should make things more even." He scoffed, looking towards the police officer that seemed much more winded than him. "You sure you can keep up, dog?"

"Quiet, you scoundrel." Keegan exhaled heavily, sweat visibly forming across her bandana. She reached up, wiping off her nose as she lowered her head down. "I can keep going for as long as I need to." She heavily breathed out again, her movements followed by white shadows.

"We'll see about that." The brute of a man grumbled, charging forward. Each footstep thudding across the ground as he raised his fist. Flashing his teeth in a snarl, he began to throw punch after punch at her, the Faunus simply dodging side to side with immense speed and a white shadow trailing behind.

With her brows furrowing underneath her bandana, she slowly tightened her right hand into a fist, sending it straight into Tohopka's stomach. The large man spat out, taking a few steps back with his arm wrapped around his torso as he grimace.

Growling, he looked up, wiping his face as he clenched his fist. "That's enough!" He shouted, heading head first towards her again.

"Don't like meeting your match...?" She began to pant a little more, her shoulders rising and falling a bit. Taking a deep and shaky breath, she ducked down underneath his fist, bringing her head up and striking his chin.

He grunted, his head snapping back for a second before he brought his leg around, it striking her arm which blocked the kick as she pushed herself forward, pulling her right fist back and sending it forward just in time for him to bring his left arm back, their fist colliding with a heavy impact before the two jumped back.

Grinding his teeth, Tohopka glared. "You know. I think I do remember your little friend I killed." He scoffed, staring at her. "Captain Duane. Eight years on the force. Endless service hours." He began to grin, leaning forward. "What did I do to him again? Ah, that's right. Not many people are beaten to death just by a set of fist. Could you even make out his face?"

Clenching her teeth, Keegan bit the inside of her mouth. "I know you don't remember, you scum... you couldn't even care less about the people you kill... all you're trying to do is get into my head by reading my thoughts at the hopes I'd slip up..."

"Oh look, the dog actually learned something while at the academy. Did they teach you to lay down and roll over dead?" He stretched out his shoulders, breathing in and out softly.

"You wish..." She took a step forward, freezing for a moment as she grimaced. "Damn... damn it..." She dropped to one knee, heavily breathing as her sweat dripped onto the floor. Reaching up, she pulled the bandana around her neck and kept her hand holding onto it.

Blinking, Tohopka tilted his head with his brows furrowed while staring at her. He then scoffed, smiling as he leaned his head back and chuckled. "You act like you can keep working on and on forever but you really can't. You're damn semblance eats away your aura and strength like butter on a hot pan." He started to chuckle more.

Breathing heavily, Keegan clenched her teeth as she slowly stood up and glared back at him. Her attention quickly being taken away as she heard a scream from behind her. She turned around, eyes wide as she saw Cheyenne rolling across the ground as her aura chipped away from a heavy strike From Katie her twirled her duel wakizashi.

"You should pay attention to your own fight!" He called out, just in time for her to turn around to see both his feet strike her chest, sending her flying backwards and skidding across the ground on her back. Groaning, she laid there with one knee up and her arm across her head as she breathed heavily.

"Of-Officer Keegan!" Kris shouted, panting herself as she ducked underneath a swing from Eri's claws before jumping back. It was at that moment she spotted Elise out cold on the ground and Cheyenne struggling to stand. Gulping, her shoulders dropped a little. "Shit..."

"Looks like this is the end for all of you." Katie chuckled, walking up towards Cheyenne with a demonic smile as her dog strolled up beside her. "And we're going to start with a sappy little deer Faunus." She smiled, staring down at her as she slowly looked up with wide eyes.

"Enough!" Sanguine's voice echoed as she stepped down the street. "We've done what we've needed to do."

Groaning, her daughter rolled her eyes as she turned around. "Mommy, whhhy? I'm not done-"

"Yes. You are." She demanded, eyeing the unconscious Dion before looking at Eri and Tohopka. "Let's go. Now."

Groaning, Tohopka slowly began to back away from Keegan. "Next time, you're roadkill, dog." He spat out, snarling a bit.

Just as unpleased, Eri glared at Kris before slowly retracting her blades. "Don't think this is over. I'll have your head."

As the four began to walk away, more sirens could be heard getting closer in the distance as Katie pouted and petted her dog, Coco. "Mommy, I don't understand. Why couldn't we kill them?" She groaned, he chihuahua growling a bit back.

"Because, sweetie, sometimes, there are things far worse than death." Sanguine flashed a smile, her eyes glazing over and flashing red.

Half an hour later, Elise, Cheyenne, and Kris were all sitting on a bench as several police cars began to pull out and leave the area. Stepping up to them was a male officer with a pen and notepad. "Listen, we've looked all over. Wherever this friend of yours is, she isn't around here."

"That's wonderful..." Elise lowered her head into her hand, groaning from a headache.

Gulping some, Cheyenne looked up. "Um, is Officer Keegan okay?"

"She should be fine, knowing her she'll be early to work in the morning as always." He folded up his notepad, putting it away. "You three are very lucky none of you were injured in this. Gang fights are not the place for children."

"Yeah, we've been getting that a lot lately." Kris rolled her eyes, now wearing her shredded and torn red trench coat again.

Shaking his head, he turned around and waved them off. "If you meet any of these people ever again, make sure you call the authorities." He scolded, stepping into his squad car and driving off. In the backseat of his car, Dion Ysus was glaring at the three girls the entire time they pulled away.

After a few seconds of silence, Elise took a deep breath while standing up. Flinching slightly in pain from where Coco had bit her. "Come on. We need to go find Kagami."

Glancing around, Cheyenne softly sighed as she stood up. "You don't think she was kidnaped again, do you?"

"No, it was only the four of them that left." Kris stood up, her shoulders slouched. "And they went off in the opposite direction of where Kagami and Sanguine were fighting."

"You know, I want to stab Zucchini." Elise grumbled, slightly limping as they began to walk down the sidewalk. "And her stupid daughter."

Rolling her eyes, Kris reached over and rubbed her shoulder. "Don't worry. It could have been any of that Katie bit and put unconscious. It's not your fault."

"Sure as hell feel like it does." The brunet groaned, rubbing her face as she heavily breathed out.

"Yeah, it'll feel like that for a while." Cheyenne mumbled.

The group of three girls then suddenly stopped, a figure stepping out from an alley. It wasn't until the girls realize who it was did they let out a sighing relief. The outline of green and black unmistakable.

"Oh thank Oum." Elise smiled brightly, stepping towards Kagami. "Where the hell have you been the past thirty minutes? We've been worried sick! Though I was out for a good portion of it but that's not important." She exhaled, rolling her shoulders back. "I'm just glad you're okay..." She trailed off, noticing the four puncture wounds on the side of her neck.

She took a step back towards Kris and Cheyenne, her eyes wide as she reached up and touched the two holes in the side of her neck. "Kagami..." She gulped, biting her lip.

Slowly looking up, hidden behind strands of her green hair, the jadette glared with bloody red eyes swirling in madness. She grinned, unlike any grin she had before as she reached up, grabbing the hilt of her sword. "I'll give you twenty seconds to run." Her voice was slightly distorted as she glanced around. "Twenty... nineteen... eighteen..."


	62. An Opponent I Can't Fight

As the Aquilus twins walked into Sanguine's club, Nihilus glanced down at his slightly younger sister. "Behave yourself this time." He demanded, keeping his hands in the pockets of his hoodie.

Rolling her eyes, Thanaton seemed to step in rhythm with the sound of music. "Oh, lighten up. I love it when you take me here." She smiled while fixing her jacket. "How do I look?"

"The same as you did over a year ago." He flashed a faint smile, it only fading away as he felt an elbow hit his side.

"Ugh, whatever. Jackass." She mumbled, pushing her purple hair behind her ear as she started to skip towards the bar. "You know where I'll be if you need me!"

"I'm not pitying you when you have a hangover again!" He shouted, his brow twitching ever so slightly as he removed his hands from his pockets. Seeing her wave him off, he sighed softly and shook his head a bit. Eventually he made his way to a corner booth, sitting down and waving a waitress down. "I'll take a glass and a bottle of silver saber." He exhaled, leaning back a little. "And whatever the special is today."

"Make that two glasses." An all too familiar voice chimed in his ears, making him slouch a bit more. Sliding into the seat across from him, Katie was smiling wickedly with her dog in her lap. "I have the most amazing news to tell you. You definitely owe me one."

"Huh?" Nihilus raised his eyes, sitting up a little. "What do you mean?"

"You remember that green haired, dolled up, fancy, whatever, stupid girl that you were working with recently? And brought under your care to help her hide from police or whatever it is you were doing?" She began to mess with her golden locks, her teeth only showing more as she grinned.

"Kagami." He corrected with a nod. "And yes, I do. Why do you ask?"

"Well I couldn't shake the feeling that something was off with her. So I sent Tohopka to investigate your new buddy in crime." She chuckled softly, watching him shift around before leaning on his hand with a bored expression. "Turns out she's a no good, goodie two shoes. She's a Huntress and was working with the police. You're welcome for busting her before she got you and the others arrested."

He blinked a few times, his eyes dead as he brushed back some of his hair out of his eyes with a shrug. "Really? Huh."

"Oh come on! You don't even care! Not one bit?" She exhaled, leaning forward. "Of course you wouldn't. You of all people would be the one who doesn't care you nearly got arrested." She rolled her eyes before smiling as she glanced at him. "But that's what I like about you. Nihil." She winked.

Rolling his eyes back, he only scoffed. "Not like Thanaton and I couldn't kill someone before they got to us. There's no reason to worry."

"You're right. There isn't." Katie gave off a small life. "Mommy took care of them." She then blinked, reaching across the table to grab a few strands of his hair. "Are these greys on you already?" Her brows furrowed.

Slowly pushing her hand away, Nihilus shook his head as his hair fell back across his eyes. "They're nothing." He mumbled, leaning back onto his hand. "So what did your mother do?"

"She bit that green haired, double sided, bitch." She said proudly, smiling wide. "And gave her commands to kill her teammates. So you definitely don't have to worry about dealing with them ever again." She nodded just as the waitress came back.

Watching the glass bottle being placed on the table with a soft clank, he blinked slowly, staring at the red eyed blonde for a moment before shaking his head with a faint smile. "She didn't have to, I could have handled it myself. But give your mother my regards for helping us out."

"And that's what I like about you." She giggled softly, reaching over and grabbing one of the two matching glas cups on the table.

Running through the Emerald Forest, Cheyenne, Kris, and Elise were all jumping from tree branch to tree branch. The ground below them zooming past as they each went as fast as they could. Grinding her teeth together, the Faunus glanced back, seeing a blurred glimpse of green following closely behind them.

"This is bad! This is bad! We can't fight Kagami!" Kris shouted, her torn trench coat blowing against the wind as she struggled to keep her pace.

"Well we can't keep running forever!" Cheyenne yelled back, panting softly as she launched herself from tree to tree.

"And we can't exactly hope Kagami's strong enough to overpower that witch's poison!" Elise swallowed thickly, her hands balling up into tight fist. "Nihilus said that her semblance runs off willpower! The stronger the person, the more likely she's able to take control!"

"So what are we supposed to do for the next couple of hours, you know, while our friend is trying to kill us!" The young redhead snapped a bit, her brow twitching.

"We may be teammates but we are definitely not friends." Kagami's distorted voiced muttered from behind as the slash of a sword echoed in the air. Cheyenne yelping as the branch below her was cut, followed by Kris' and Elise's. As the three landed on the ground and stood up, Kagami landed in front of them on one knee, slowly rising with a ruthless grin. "Understand?"

"We understand that you're not right in the head at the moment." Elise grinded her teeth, her chest heavily rising and falling as she stared at her team leader. "And that you're not thinking clearly or making your own decisions."

Scoffing, the jadette shook her head while twirling her sword. "Do you honestly believe that? Maybe I've always felt this way and I've just been hiding it deep down. Maybe I really, really hate all of you and can't wait till your blood covers my hand."

"Because you wouldn't be you if you did. That's why you're not yourself at the moment." Cheyenne slowly took a step back, her hands reluctantly going towards her modified rifle. "We don't... we don't want to fight you."

"But I want to kill you." She snarled, lunging forward with a quick slash at the Faunus.

Quickly stepping in between the two with her duel weapons crossed over in an x to stop the blade, Kris grunted softly with her boots digging into the ground below. "We don't want to hurt you! Come on! Snap out of it!" She demanded.

Smirking, she stepped back, twirling her weapon around. "That's not going to happen-" She was cut off, Elise's feet colliding with her face and sending her flying back across the woodland ground.

Landing on her feet and nearly hyperventilating, Elise looked as if she had just done the toughest thing in the world. Her jaw was tight as her hands barely trembled. Taking a deep breath, she inhaled as much as she could as she looked at the other two. "I... I don't think we have a choice..." She muttered, her voice shaky as she tried to pull herself together. "I... I think we have to fight her. And beat her. She's an amazing hero and I don't even want to imagine what she'd be like if Sanguine had her full time against the people of Vale."

The Faunus and the redhead both glanced at each other, brows furrowed before they slowly nodded. Grabbing her gun and fully pulling it out, Cheyenne took a deep and shaky breath. "You call the shots. What's the plan?" She eyed the brunet.

"You think you three can out wit me?" Kagami chuckled softly, pushing her hair out of her face as she stood up. Leaves and debris falling off her shoulders. "Especially with the dunderhead calling all the moves? You do remember the first day of school that klutz tried to shoot you because she thought you were a deer on school grounds, don't you?"

Gulping with a slight flinch, Elise turned around to eye her. "Listen, Kagami, I know you're not in control, and I know these words aren't yours. Just hang in there. We're going to fix this. I promise. And when we're done I'll write you another beautiful poem." She smiled brightly.

"That poem you wrote was trash." Kris muttered.

"Shut up." She hissed, looking around at their surroundings. "Collapse a few trees, Chey. It'll give us more leverage while fighting. Kris and I will distract her."

"On it." The Faunus nodded as the redhead stepped up besides the young farm girl, her weapons being held like tonfas with blades extended.

Letting out a huff of air, Kagami shook her head. "You think that will help you? You're all going to die out here!" She shouted, giving off a war cry as she ran forward, her sword in a reverse grip.

"I'll take right." Elise quietly said, grabbing her baton as she took off.

"Left it is then." Kris nodded, exhaling as she took steps to the left and came around towards her in an arch. Her eyes locked on and watching her friend's every movement.

Eyes quickly darting between the two, the jadette took a large step forward with her left foot, her sword coming up and blocking the candy cane weapons with a heavy clash as she brought her left arm up, grunting softly as she blocked the baton with her forearm. She slid her blade back up against the duel blades, metal shimmering against metal as she brought her arm around, Sending her right fist straight into Elise's face. As the brunet stumbled back, she kept the momentum of her body going, bringing her right leg up and colliding it with the redhead's side.

The group quickly dispersed, a large tree falling down between them followed by several more around them. Some were flat on the ground while others were left at an angle. Grinding her teeth together, Kagami quickly surveyed the area. "You know, snipers are cowards! You have no nerves, you're so scared you have to hide from the battle and fight! And you lack so much skill all you can do is pull a damn trigger! You are nothing but a coward, Cheyenne!"

Taking a deep breath, the deer Faunus changed her rifle setting to a light blue. "Don't worry. She's going to be fine." She quietly mumbled, reassuring herself as she softly exhaled. Quickly standing up and over a fallen down tree, she took aim behind her team leader's back. Two quick shots fired off, both striking each of Kagami's feet. Seeing her stumble a bit as her feet were encased in ice, Cheyenne quickle ducked back down behind the tree, moving as fast as she could to another spot that kept her hidden.

"You know, you're being a real bitch right now! Brainwashed or not!" Kris shouted, taking her trench coat off and flicking her wrist as the toys underneath were sent scattering across the woodland grounds. Dropping the clothing, she spun both her weapons, retracting the blades as she held them like a set of pistols. Taking a few steps forward, She began to fire shots, one after another with clenched teeth.

Groaning, Kagami started to let out several heavy breaths, her blade moving as fast as lighting as each bullet bounced of the tinted metal with sharp clinks.

With the jadette distracted with blocking, Elise bolted forward. Th redhead pulling back her shots as the brunet brought her baton around in a backwards swing with her left hand, striking Kagami in the face and sending her stumbling away as the ice shattered around her feet. Grimacing like it pained her more to do so, she didn't let up and instead stepped forward more. Not letting her friend have time to recompose herself, she brought her right fist up in a harsh uppercut, the jadette's head tilting back slightly before her body arched forward as Elise's foot struck her in the chest and sent her back.

Groaning, she placed her hands down against the ground, forcing her body to flip over backwards. Her boots digging into the ground along with her hands as she forced herself to stop. Rising to her feet, she clutched her sword tight, brushing her thumb across her nose as she glared forward. Her sight quickly diminishing as a blast of steam exploded in front of her, blinding her sight.

Exhaling, Cheyenne leaned her head back a little with her eyes shut before she slid down a tree that had fallen at a angle. "Kris! Chain!" She shouted, jumping on top of another tree and running across it.

The redhead glanced at Elise, the brunet nodding, to her to which she threw one of her weapons in the air, letting it twirl as she grabbed the straight edge. Pulling her arm back like she was going to throw a ball, she threw her arm forward, the curved part of her weapon launching out into the foggy mist. Tugging back as hard as she could, she gave off a faint scream, her jaw flexing as she flashed her teeth.

Watching as Kagami was pulled from the fog and thrown through the air, Elise took a deep breath, taking aim as she gently and hesitantly squeezed the trigger. A dart zooming through the air and striking Kagami's right hand.

Flinching as a sharp pain shot through her arm, the jadette dropped her sword with her eyes clenched shut as she flew through the air. Her eyes only opening as her back struck a tree as she gasped loudly as a large chunk of her aura was chipped away.

"...I'm sorry..." Cheyenne mumbled quietly, her brows furrowed as she gulped. Taking aim, she shut her eyes, looking away as she fired. A red blast hitting Kagami and exploding in a rush of fire.

As the smoke cleared, the jadette coughed a as she dropped down to her knees with heavy breathing. She groaned, her head hanging low as she placed her hands against the ground. Before she could even stand, Kris rushed forward, snatching up her left arm and holding it back as Cheyenne jumped down, doing the same with her right arm.

"We didn't want to hurt you." Elise mumbled, putting her rifle behind her back as she put her baton away. Gulping, she stepped up towards her friend who was struggling in the Faunus and redhead's grip. "But... we're not going to let you do anything you'd regret later." She took a deep breath, letting her arms hang down at her sides as she stood directly in front of Kagami who let her head hang down, her hair covering her face. "I'm really... really sorry." The brunet's brows furrowed heavily as she brought her fist back. "You'll thank me when you wake up." She swallowed thickly, sending her arm forward.

Snarling with her teeth show, Kagami glared through her hair that shrouded her face, only one eye showing and it still glowing red from Sanguine's poison. Forcing her feet upward, she wrapped her left leg around the brunet's arm, the heel of her right boot smashing into her nose. Pushing off her, she flipped over backwards, pressing her feet against the tree that was behind her. "You'll have to try harder than that!" She hissed, jerking her arms together as Cheyenne and Kris collided together.

With her arms now freed, she straightened her legs, launching herself off the tree and rolling onto the ground while standing up in one fluid motion. Taking two steps forward, she grabbed the face of Elise who was catching her balance. Smirking, the two's eyes met. The brunet's going wide as Kagami's eyes faded to a dark green mixed with red. "You're nothing but a worthless waste of space! Oum knows why any is even friends with you!"

Giving off a battle cry, the jadette forced her hand down, slamming the young farm girl's head into the ground as the impact indented itself in the dirt. As Elise screamed, she simply gripped her face tighter, speaking louder. "You're impulsive! Ignorant! And just down right completely stupid in some situations!" She pushed down harder with her hand, the ground breaking apart more as a chunk of Elise's aura was lost. Raising her arm while still gripping the brunet's face, she forcefully shoved the back of her head back into the dirt. Elise screaming as her aura completely faded away. She then quickly pulled back, disappearing in a cloud of smoke just as Kris' weapons swiped through the mist that faded.

"Damn it." Kris cursed, panting softly as she crouched down next to Elise. "Are you okay?" She quickly asked, helping her sit up a little.

"Ugh... I... have a headache now. A really... really bad headache." The brunet groaned, rubbing her head with her eyes shut, tears faintly swelling up in them. "But I'm fine. We gotta... we gotta stop Kagami." She grimaced, moving her head around slightly before her eyes shot open wide to the sound of Cheyenne screaming.

Grimacing as her hair was being pulled back, the Faunus's brows were twitching as her fingers trembled while holding her rifle. Behind her, Kagami had a tight hold on her light brown hair, pulling back hard enough to make her held tilt back as the smoke around them dissipated. "And you... you're just plain pathetic." The jadette whispered quietly, pulling harder as her eyes reverted back to a bloody red.

"You're nothing but a runaway feeding off of others. You couldn't even make it on your own. You're soft and weak." Snarling, she let go of her hair, immediately putting her into a headlock as she moved her lips close to her ear. "Without anyone else, you're nothing but a pushover who couldn't punch the broad sid of a-"

She was cut off, Cheyenne dropping her rifle as she reached up and grabbed Kagami's arms. "Be quiet!" She snapped, her voice going loud as she jerked her leader off her, keeping a hold of her right wrist as she pulled that arm behind her back, keeping her left arm on her back as she pushed her down to her knees. "You can just be quiet! I don't care if you're brainwashed!" She gritted her teeth her eyes watering only a bit. "You can just shut up!" Her voice echoed, birds flying off in the distance as trees were ruffled.

Grunting, Kagami took a few deep breaths, only grimacing as she tried to move. Finally her body relaxed against her hold. "Ow... ouch, Chey... Chey, that hurts." She whimpered a bit, closing her eyes as her hair fell across her face. "Chey, let go please, that hurts."

The Faunus let out a quiet and questioning sound, her brows raising a bit as she let up on her hold. "Cheyenne! No!" Kris shouted in the distance, but by then it was too late. Just as she let up, the jadette quickly smirked, her eyes glowing red underneath the shadow of her hair as she spun around and grabbed her by the neck and the arm.

"See! I told you! Pathetic and soft!" She shouted, flipping her over her and slamming her back into the ground. Pushing her into the ground as she stood, she snatched up the modified Atlas rifle, leaving it on the red Dust setting as she raised her arms. "Happy hunting." She winked, pulling the trigger.

A large explosion went off at her feet, and as smoke and debris cleared the area, Cheyenne was seen laying completely still with her eyes shut on the ground. Kagami staired for a second, watching as her friend's aura completely disappeared. Waiting, she exhaled and groaned as she saw the Faunus' chest moving up and down. "Damn it." She growled a bit, holding up the rifle as she went to reload.

Before she could though, the curved edge of a candy cane weapon flew by, wrapping around the rifle and jerking it out of her grasp. Growling, she looked up and glared just in time for her chest to be kicked by Kris, sending her falling onto her back and skidding away across the ground as more of her aura was chipped away.

"Kris!" Elise shouted, stumbling heavily as she ran across the area, her head pounding with each step she took.

"On it!" The red ead shouted back.

Nodding, she kneeled down, skidding across the dirt for a second as she came up next to Cheyenne. "Hey, hey. Hey." She gently nudged her, her hands firmly gripping her shoulders, her vision blurring for a second before coming back. "Chey, you're okay, aren't ya?"

Groaning softly back, the Faunus shifted around slightly while opening one eye halfway. "What do you think...?" She quietly muttered, taking a deep breath and letting it out shakily.

"Right, right sorry. Bad question." She stuttered a bit, grabbing her arm and pulling her over her shoulder as she helped her towards a tree. Setting her down as gently as she could, she leaned her back up against it. "Don't worry. Kris and I got this. You just take it easy."

Cheyenne slowly nodded, coughing a bit as she leaned her head back. "Sorry... about that..." She muttered, swallowing thickly as she inhaled. "It sounded like her... and it sounded like she was in pain..."

"Shh," The farm girl reached up, pushing her finger up against her friend's lips with a smile. "Don't worry about it. Sometimes things happen. It's not your fault. You were just looking out for a friend."

Sighing, she slowly nodded back while closing her eyes. "Like how it wasn't your fault Katie bit you and knocked you out...?"

Elise was quiet for a second, her jaw flexing before she gave a slow nod back and stood up. "Yeah. Sometimes we all make mistakes. And sometimes we can't stop what's going to happen. Just like how it's not Kagami's fault for what's happening now. If anything, we have that stupid Zucchini to blame." She groaned a bit, rolling her eyes.

"Mhmm..." She quietly let out, letting her body relax.

Turning around, the brunet started to step away but then stopped, quickly glancing back behind her at her friend. "And don't let what Kagami said get to you. You're amazing and kind hearted. And that's what we love about you. You wouldn't have gotten this far in life if you were weak. And even if you were weak," She grinned a bit. "What would be wrong with that? You'd be a badass friend anyway." Seeing the Faunus smile softly, the young farm girl gave a nod while smiling to herself as she hurried away.

Groaning deeply with heavy breathing, Kagami looked up with narrowed eyes after being pushed back. Grinding her teeth together, she slowly started to walk around in a circle with Kris on the other side of her. The redhead blowing strands of her hair out of her face as she gripped her candy caned weapons like tonfas.

Reaching up, the jadette brushed her nose while snarling. She quickly glanced around before smirking as she stopped moving. Locking eyes with her friend for a split second, she slid a foot back as her eyes flashed to a bright green mixed with a glowing red. She held out her hands behind her back, inhaling heavily as she closed her eyes and threw her arms forward.

Kris blinked once, tilting her head in slight confusion before her eyes widened. She quickly started to take several steps back, twirling her weapons around as several small tiny toy jet planes shot through the air towards her, exploding on contact with her canes. Seeing a shadow above her, she glanced up, gritting her teeth and crossing her forearms as Kagami's boots collided with them.

Grunting, Kagami pushed herself off, backflipping away as she landed and skidded across the ground. "Just how long do you expect to keep this up?!" She shouted, her chest heavily rising and falling as she glared at her teammate as her eyes faded back to blood red. "You can't keep fighting someone you're completely outmatched to!"

Sliding back herself, the redhead softly exhaled while lowering her arms. "You're one to talk." She placed her weapon in her left hand in her right hand, holding them both in one hand. "You look like you're about to fall over and collapse yourself! Even your aura can be depleted! You're not unbeatable!"

"It doesn't matter if I'm not unbeatable," She let out a low growl, lowering herself into a low fighting stance. "All that matters is if I can kick your sorry ass. Which should be easy, considering how small you are, Christmas." She put emphasis on the name, mocking it in the most degrading tone she could.

"I think I liked it better when you didn't talk much." She rolled her eyes, holding her right hand down with her fingers outspread. Looking back at her leader, she quietly exhaled. "At least then we only have to deal with one smart mouth." She flashed her teeth a bit, flicking her wrist.

"You better hope you can move your legs as fast as you can run your mouth." She spat back, quickly looking around. Seeing a fleet of toy helicopter flying towards her,she scoffed and rolled her eyes, quickly jumping back and dodging between them. "Did you honestly think you can hit me that easily?"

"No. I don't." She took a deep breath, keeping her arm still.

As Kagami's brows furrowed, her eyes soon widened as she felt the ground beneath her feet moving. She glanced down, teeth flashing as she was swept off her feet by two toy cars. With her back crashing into the ground, she heavily grunted, spitting out a bit as the wind was knocked out of her.

Letting out a heavy huff of air, Kris rolled her head back, taking a second to catch her breath as she put her weapons away. Slowly and cautiously walking up towards her friend, she kept her hands balled up in tight fist. "You shouldn't underestimate me. I would think you of all people would understand that."

Panting heavily, she slowly rolled over onto her stomach, pushing herself onto her hands and knees. Her long green hair falling across her shoulders and wrapping around her face. Swallowing thickly as sweat dripped from her nose and onto the ground, she shakily pushed herself up to her knees while staring up at her friend.

"This is it, got it?" She brushed her red hair behind her ear. "There's no point in fighting anymore. You've lost, and when you wake up, everything will be fine." She pulled out one of her candy cane weapons in her right hand, holding it by the curve with the straight edge against her arm. Gulping, her serious expression faded to a softer, more regretful one. "I'm sorry..." She whisper, bringing her arm around to bash her in the head.

Watching the weapon coming towards her, the jadette's eyes slowly widened. Puffing out her chest as her head followed the candy cane's line of travel, she brought up her left arm in a last resort effort. Balling her hand into a tight fist, she moved it behind her neck, letting her bicep and forearm block her face.

There was a loud smack, metal hitting body as Kagami cried out and fell over onto her side. Her aura finally breaking and fizzling away as it was fully depleted. Hitting the ground with a loud thud, she grinded her teeth together while her fingers dug into the dirt below her. Snarling, and with her remaining strength, she spun her legs around, swiping at her friend's feet and catching her off balance.

"You-You'll have to try... a lot harder than th-that!" She shouted, her voice trembling as she pushed herself up with shaky limbs. She brought her left arm around, slamming it into the young girl's chest and pushing her back. The impact of the strike making her gasp for air and drop her weapon. To which the jadette quickly snatch up, holding the straight edge in her right hand, her knuckles turning white as she brought it around and struck her in the hand.

"Do you think you can get rid of me just like that? This isn't some sparring match in one of your combat schools!" She brought the weapon around, striking Kris after each sentence she spoke as she desperately tried to block herself. "But what would you know about that! You didn't even finish your training! You decided you were something special because you were that witch's niece and pushed yourself ahead! News flash! You're not even worth being called special!"

She brought the weapon around once more before bringing her leg around and kicking her in the side, sending her colliding up against a tree. As she slid down it, she quietly groaned with her eyes shut as her aura disappeared from the strain of this fight and the one before.

Now not even breathing with her mouth closed and loose strands of her hair dangling over her eyes, Kagami flipped the weapon around, taking aim at the redhead with the weapon as she held onto the trigger. Just before she could fire though, a dart shot out, striking her wrist. "Gah!" She immediately dropped the weapon, stumbling back a bit while holding her arm. Gritting her teeth as her entire body trembled, she glanced down at her wrist, seeing crimson red dripping down.

Jumping down off a fallen over tree, Elise reloaded her air compressed rifle with another dart before she swung it back across her back. Gulping, she bit her lip as she rolled her shoulders back and the expression in her eyes softened. "I'm sorry I had to do that." She quietly muttered, swallowing thickly yet again.

Swaying a bit, the jadette took a step forward. "I'm going... to knock you out cold... and then I am going to kill each of you, leaving you for last at the hopes you wake up and see their blood on my hands..." She snarled, showing her teeth as her chest rose and fell.

"I'm not going to let you do that." She slowly shook her head, the action making the pain sting sharper for a split second as she groaned. "You're not going to kill me. You're not going to kill any of us. You're not going to kill anyone, ever. It's not you, and it would eat you alive if you ever did." She sniffed a bit, taking a few steps forward. "I'm not going to let you do something you'd regret. Especially considering you're not the one in control right now."

"That's ironic... coming from someone who enjoys killing animals for fun." She snapped, taking a few deep breaths as she slowly let go of her bleeding wrist. "Real ironic."

"We're not getting into this. Not now." She slowly pulled out her baton, grimacing at the pain in her head as she tried as hard as she could to ignore it.

"Heh..." The jadette faintly smiled, sliding one foot back as she lowered herself down. Still breathing heavily thought it had calmed down some. "What? Does your little head hurt...? Maybe if you didn't need people to save your impulsive self all the time... you wouldn't get hurt in the first place..."

Elise's jaw tightened a bit, her eyebrows moving close together as her eyes narrowed. It had been a long day. A long day for sure. Quickly exhaling, she bolted forward, keeping a firm hold on her baton.

Growling back, Kagami took off forward, her arms loosely following her body. "This is your end!" She shouted, bringing her fist around with her teeth flaring.

Gritting her teeth, the brunet ducked down, dodging the blow as she brought her baton up in an upward bash.

Jumping back, she heavily exhaled dropping her body down low as she brought her leg around to swipe her off her feet.

She quickly jumped up, bringing her legs close to her chest before her boots came crashing into the ground. Sliding one foot back, she lunged forward, bringing her baton around to her torso.

The jadette brought her left arm to her side, blocking the strike with a heavy grunt. She then sent her hand forward, the palm of her hand shoving up against her chest and shoving her back.

Elise skidded backwards, groaning softly as she shook her head. She glanced up, quickly dropping down and sliding underneath her friend as she attempted to kick her with both feet.

Landing on her feet, Kagami aggressively blew strands of her hair out of her face as she turned around, her hands balling up in tight fist. She spun her body around, bringing her foot around in a roundhouse kick that collided with her teammate's face just as she stood back up.

The young farm girl dropped to the ground almost immediately while dropping her baton, shakily holding herself on her hands and knees. With her eyes shut, she let out a quiet whimper, her head feeling like it was about to explode in pain.

"Heh..." Scoffing, the jadette slowly walked up to her, swaying a bit with heavy breathing. "Did you... did you really... think you could beat me?" Seeing her friend trying to get up, she slid her foot back, sending it forward into her stomach with a snarl.

Crying out, she fell to her side, her arms wrapped around her stomach. Coughing heavily, she struggled to breathe for a couple seconds before she slowly opened her eyes.

Kneeling down on top of her friend, the leader of team MACE reached down, her fingers slowly wrapping around her neck. "Goodbye..." She hissed, slowly squeezing her fingers, her knuckles turning white as she leaned down to be face to face with her, watching her face slowly turn red.

Elise struggled, her feet digging into the ground as she tried to push herself up, her hands clawing at Kagami's arm. Her chest soon began to ache, her head pounding away in time with her own heartbeat. As her vision soon started to become blotchy, she leaned her head back, letting her arms fall down to her sides as her chest trembled and moved up and down.

With one eye shutting, the brunet let her head roll to the side. Her vision started to blur more, the world around her spinning as she spotted her baton. Trembling as she moved her head to look back up at Kagami, she slowly moved her right hand, her fingers slowly wrapping around the handle of the baton. Staring up at her friend, she closed her other eye, the pressure in her head overwhelming.

There was then a loud thunk, metal coming in contact with a head. Dropping the weapon, she gasped for air as the fingers around her neck released her. Coughing heavily, she rolled over, her hands holding her neck as she curled up. The bright red color slowly fading from her face. After a minute, she slowly opened her eyes, rolling over onto her other side.

There she saw Kagami, motionless with the cruel and wicked facial expression gone from her face and now showing a more relaxed one. Her back gently rising and falling with each breath she took. A small stream of red dripping from the left side of her head.

Breathing heavily, Elise rolled onto her back, staring up at the sky as the sun began to set. The sky fading from blue to a deep orange. Swallowing thickly, she closed her eyes while letting her arms rest across her chest. It was over. That nightmare was finally over.


	63. Medic

Darkness slowly swirled and faded and despite everything being black, different shades of the color clouded and disappeared, a pressure building up and weakening in a steady rhythm like that of a heartbeat. A wind began to blow, howling like wolves through the shadows as they run deeper and deeper into the woods. Rustling and scattered noises echoing, bouncing off nothing but the air itself as the sounds faded away into nothing but a quiet and still surrounding.

There was a sudden clasp of power as Kagami's eyes shot open. She gasped for air, her breathing shaky and staggered as she closed her eyes and began to move. Her heart began to pound inside her head as she felt her wrist tied behind her back and around something, sweating dripping down the side of her face. She groaned, her nostrils flaring with each breath she took as she pulled back, her feet digging in and scraping the dirt and leaf ground below her.

"Whoa! Whoa whoa whoa! Kagami!" Leaning up against a tree while sitting with her air compressed rifle in her lap, Elise scattered to her feet, stumbling slightly as she slid down on her knees next to her friend. "Hey! Hey! It's okay! Calm down!" She forcefully grabbed her shoulders, holding her still as well as she could as the birds began to sing in the distance.

Swallowing thickly, she took several deep breaths, her chest rapidly rising and falling as she squirmed around. After a few seconds, she let her shoulders relax, the only movement coming from them moving up and down with her breathing.

"Sorry. Sorry..." She sighed softly, slowly removing her hands. "I... I didn't know if you were going to wake up you or not you... s-so I had to take precautions..." She smiled a bit, gently moving her hands behind her as she untied her leader's arms. Pulling her arms back in front of her, she smiled a little brighter and held up the jadette's belt. "Didn't know what to use so I had to improvise a bit." She chuckled softly.

"So... you're stripping me... now?" Kagami groaned, reaching up slowly to rub her head only to flinch from the touch. Inhaling, she swallowed bringing her arms down in front of her. Watching her hands trembling, she slowly shut her eyes, moving her head around with jagged movements another groan.

"Hey... hey, it's okay." She set the belt aside, grabbing her hands and holding them steady. "Try not to do too much right now. I used the bandages you have wrapped around your arms to dress the wound on your head and on your wrist. I did the best I could. I'm not really a medic or anything. I checked the others too. The seem fine aside from being exhausted and are currently sleeping."

Letting out a quiet grumble, she slowly raised her head, her eyes one again a tea green though the were now bloodshot. Slowly lifting her left hand up, she couldn't stop it from trembling as she gently reached up at placed her hand on the brunet's shoulder, tapping at her slightly bruised neck. "Your... your..." She heavily groaned, rolling over onto her side a bit as her stomach contracted, her body hunching over slightly as the contents of her stomach spilled out.

Sighing, Elise reached over, pulling back her friends hair as she shook her head. "You know, I've only seen papa hungover once, and you're acting worse than him." Holding the jade colored hair in her left hand, she reached back with her right, pulling out her hair tie and letting her hair fall down as she put her friend's up insead.

"I'm... going to punch you..." She mumbled between a muffled groan and coughing. Slowly sitting back up straight, she leaned her head back, her teeth clenched as she heavily breathed in and out. Sweat began building up on her forehead and making it shine.

"Nuh uh huh." She shook her finger with a smile before brushing her hair behind her ear. "That's just Zucchini's poison talking." She sat down and crossed her legs, leaning forward slightly.

"Shut up..." She hissed slightly, putting her hand on her friend's face before slowly letting it fall back into her lap as she rolled her head around.

"Okay, okay. Not the time." The brunet sighed softly, glancing down. Slowly reaching behind her head, she scratched at her scalp as she slowly looked back up with a soft smile. "Well, I know something that will make you smile." She nodded a bit, slightly eagar.

"If it doesn't... involve me... getting rid of this headache... I don't care..." Kagami took a deep breath, slowly glaring up at her.

"That'll pass... I promise." She slowly nodded, still softly smiling, though it had faded a bit, as she moved up and scooted beside her teammate. Pulling out a long piece of fabric that was usually wrapped around the leader of team MACE's arm, she chuckled a bit. "I got bored of counting the stars before the sun started rising, so I wrote another poem!"

Staring blankly at her, she blinked very slowly a few times before rolling her eyes as she glanced over at the rising sun, The sky tinted pink and orange with a few clouds hiding between the trees. "I think... I would have rather been asleep... for a hundred years... and woke up to the four Kingdoms at total war with each other..."

"Oh shut up." She pouted, unfolding the cloth. "I actually tried really really hard on this one. I spent like fours hours on it." She smiled more, leaning back as she read her sloppy handwriting with ease.

 _You're a super cool and awesome friend_

 _Just like Kris' fashion trends_

 _You're really kind_

 _You have a really bright mind_

 _And again I need another rhyming line_

 _You mean the world to me and the others_

 _I don't think I could say the same for my three brothers_

 _You've taken some shots that weren't the best_

 _Like that time where I almost shot Chey in the chest_

 _Even though you kicked our ass_

 _I think I need a wine glass_

 _Your to strong and brave with that sword_

 _Sorry I never gave back your hoodie I've been kinda bored_

 _Now I just want to sit down and read_

 _Wait that reminds you still need to watch RTD_

 _Just remember we've forgiven you right from the start_

 _Now stop blaming yourself and keep doing your part_

 _You're the glue to our little family don't you know_

 _Now all you need to do is relax and glow_

The jadette slowly glanced over at her as she finished, unable to control a smile as she gently shook her head with a small cough. "That... that took four hours..." She laughed softly before grimacing slightly as she wrapped her arms around her torso. "I mean... that's... that's definitely improvement from the last one..." She shook her head just slightly, showing off her teeth.

"I will take that only because I know you're still loopy, but I know once you feel better you'll love it and let me write it in your book." Elise nodded, rolling the fabric back up and sliding it into her pant's pocket. "I know you love it."

"No..." She coughed slightly, leaning her head back to relax with a faint smile. "Never... you're not tainting... my book... ever again..." She eyed her, smirking slightly. "But... quick question..."

"Yeah?" She blinked, raising an eyebrow. "What?"

"Why... are we still in... the woods...?" She took a deep breath, swallowing heavily as she licked her lips.

"Because I can't carry three unconscious dunderheads out of here and through the city. I may be a Spruce, but I am a lady Spruce, not a man. I can only carry max maybe a full grown buck over my shoulders. So I guess I could have carried maybe two of you... I could have left Kris..." The brunet lost herself in her words for a moment, trailing off quietly as she glanced at her friend. Slowly, she tilted her head to the side with her brows furrowed. "Kagami...?"

Breathing heavily with wide eyes, Kagami was frozen stiff as her pupils dilated. Staring dead at a pack of Alpha Griffon, each creature slowly stepping towards them. Their wings spreading as their claws dug into the earth. "E-Elise... get your rifle..." She whispered, her breath shaky as she gulped.

"Huh?" Elise glanced at her, seeing where her eyes were pointing and looked over her shoulder, seeing nothing as a breeze gently blew between the trees. "What... what are you looking at?" She looked back at her friend, her eyebrows furrowing more. "Kagami...?"

As her heart began to race inside her chest, she slowly brought her knees to her chest, closing her eyes as she put her hands over her ears after hearing a few of the Grimm cry out. "D-Damn it... I'm... I'm hallucinating..." She stuttered, her body trembling.

"Whoa, whoa, okay." She took a deep breath, reaching over and gently holding her shoulders. "Hey, hey at least you know whatever is over there isn't real... just... just breathe through it? Yeah?"

Slowly curling her fingers, the jadette shook her head no while pressing her head deeper into her thighs. She let out a quiet noise, goosebumps dancing across her arms as she shook.

Exhaling softly, Elise reached up, pulling of her leader's hoodie, revealing a long sleeved green and brown flannel shirt. "Hey, just try to relax. You're going to be fine." She gently placed the green hoodie over her friend's shoulders, wrapping it around her. Gulping a little herself, she slowly moved her arm around her, pulling her close as she gently began to rub the back of her head. "Remember, Ozpin made you our leader for a reason. You got this. Plus, Nihilus said that only the strong can handle Zucchini's poison. And you've already done and dealt with that, so I know you're capable of getting through this."

"Elise..." She quietly muttered, shifting around slightly before slowly pressing up more against her.

"Yeah, Kagami?" She blinked a few times, glancing down.

"Shut up... I have a headache..."

Smiling, she slowly nodded, strands of her brown hair wrapping around her face as she closed her eyes. "Yeah, alright. Me too... me too."

Later on that day, resting on the couch in Officer Keegan's house, Dino was sitting on his legs with his head tilted as he watched the daily news with intrigued eyes. It was then the doorbell rang, causing him to flinch a little as he sat up straight. With wide eyes, he glanced around quickly, seeing no sight of his mother. Taking a deep breath, he stood up, his alligator tail swaying back and forth as he stepped towards the door. Not without first picking up his toy gun.

Grabbing the doorknob, he puffed out his chest while tightening his jaw. In one swift motion, he tossed the door open, firing a single foam dart straight in front of him.

Standing slightly to the side, Elise blinked, her head turning as she watched the dart woosh through the air behind her. Standing there, both Cheyenne and Kris were on either side of Kagami, helping her from losing her balance. Though, they weren't as much help as the toy bullet hit their leader square in the forehead, making her head tilt back a little before she leaned backwards and fell onto the ground with a soft grunt.

The brunet blinked a couple times before she glared back at her two friends. "You had one job!" She waved her arms around.

"Uhhh..." The redhead stared for a moment down at the jadette before quickly pointed over at the deer Faunus next to her. "It's Chey's fault! She obviously took one too many hits!"

"I'll show you one too many hits, Christmas..." The lighter brunette glared back at her.

"Okay! Okay! Okay! Whatever! Just one of ya or both of ya pick her up!" Elise heavily exhaled, turning around on her heels to face the younger boy. "Hey listen, my friend you shot, she's having a really bad day. Well, we all are. So could you not shoot her perhaps?"

Staring at her with his brows furrowed, the gator Faunus raised his arm, taking aim with his toy gun before slowly lowering it. He glanced around, taking a small step back as he unloaded the foam dart from it.

"Thank you." She kindly smiled towards him. "Now, is your mother home?" Seeing him nod slowly, she smiled more while putting her hands on her hips. "Could you perhaps go get her for us?"

Dino stared at her for a moment, glancing between the four girls as Kris and Cheyenne both picked up Kagami. Biting the inside of his cheek, he gave a slow nod, quickly rushing off to another part of the house.

"So um, do we step inside or..." Cheyenne trailed off, blinking a few times.

"I... don't know. He didn't exactly invite us in..." Elise trailed off as well, glancing back at Kris.

"I dunno." The redhead shrugged. "I would have walked in by now and made myself at home though. But that's just me."

Scoffing, the young farm girl rolled her eyes, glancing back inside the door just as Keegan stepped in front of it with a groan and her eyes shut. Wearing a pair a of black sweatpants with no shoes and a white shirt, her hair was slightly messy as she shifted her body weight to her right leg. With her right hand holding up an ice pack to her head and a cup of coffee in her left hand, a few files were tucked underneath her right arm. "Who is-" She opened her eyes, blinking a few times before she slouched forward with a soft grumble. "What could you four possibly want now?"

After explaining what happened post to the fight with Sanguine and her Fang Gang and laying Kagami on the couch with a pillow and blanket, he remaining girls of MACE sat down at a table with Keegan. "And see," Elise continued on with the story. "Papa is super protective and caring. I love him to death, but sometimes he's a bit hard headed. Unlike mama who once she gets angry thinks about everything and calms down, papa just stays angry. If I tried to explain to him what happened, he'd throw a fit and and probably pick up Kagami and throw her out the window. He doesn't take kindly to his little girl being hurt by someone close. And we didn't know where else to go so we came to your house." She smiled brightly, though she looked half asleep.

Rubbing her head, Keegan groaned with a sigh mixed in as she rubbed the side of her head with two fingers. "You girls really know how to get yourself in trouble." She exhaled, grabbing her cup of coffee and taking a rather large gulp. "I don't even know what I was thinking agreeing to work with you."

"You had to have saw something. You wouldn't have tried if you didn't." Cheyenne leaned forward a little, her brows raising. "You said it yourself, we're young. But we're also strong in ways you aren't because of that. We just... sometimes you can't win every battle."

"You don't think I know that?" She held up the hand that was holding her coffee, pointing at her. "I've fought and lost more battles than you can imagine. The problem here is that I got caught up in my own damn emotions and drama with that filthy bastard, I let you four get hurt. And as an officer, I serve to protect. And if I can't protect, I'm not doing my job very well."

"You know," Kris raised a hand, pointing over at the canine Faunus. "You haven't yelled once. Or jumped around like the hyperactive person you are. And you're drinking coffee..." She trailed off, tilting her head before grunting as she was elbowed in the side.

"How is that the first thing on your mind to ask?" The deer Faunus whispered, narrowing her eyes at her.

"It's fine, it's fine." The older woman brushed her black hair back with her free hand before taking another sip of her coffee. "I put a little wine in it. It helps with the after affects of my semblance and the headache that follows."

"May I ask a question?" Elise suddenly asked, resting her head on her hand as she propped her arm up with her elbow. "If you don't mind that is."

"What is it, huh?" Her brows rose as her dog ears twitched. "What do you want to know?"

"Well," The brunet scratched at her head, her brown hair still down and wrapping around her forearm. "You have a semblance. And an aura. And both are pretty powerful. But you chose to go to a police academy and become a police officer instead of going to a Huntsmen academy to further develop your skills and become a Huntress. So... why?" Her brows furrowed a little as she tilted her head. "I don't understand. Wouldn't you be protecting more people as a Huntress?"

Chuckling softly, Keegan set her cup of coffee down, crossing her arms with a smile as she leaned her head back. "Now that, that's one hell of a story there. You see, dad was the best. Hard working, he loved us, would make it home for dinner every night and always kissed us goodnight. Mom on the other hand, she was... a little different."

Sixteen years ago, in the Kingdom of Vacuo, two years after Keegan was picked up from the streets in a snowy Mistral by the Tiaco family, the young twelve year old Faunus walking down the inner city streets quietly with her head down. Her short black hair tied into two small pigtails as she wore a pair of black slip on sandals, black cargo shorts with white flower designs and drawstrings ties at the ends, and a white button up shirt with black buttons, a black collar, and black trimming on the sleeves.

Walking in front of her, a fourteen year old girl with blood orange hair down to her shoulders was talking to every person she passed by, whether they were at a stand selling fruit and other foods or simply walking or sitting on the street. She had on a pair of orange and white tennis shoes, loosely fitting dark khaki shorts held up by a light brown webbed belt, a red shirt, and a dark red scarf wrapped around her neck.

Suddenly stopping at a small fruit stand and spinning around on her heels with a grin as her scarf waved through the air, the older girl held out her arms. In her hands a bright red and golden apple. "After school snack? The shopkeep says they're going bad and said we can have one since he loves me." Her smile grew.

Keegan took a few more steps before stopping. She blinked a few times before before rolling her eyes a bit with a soft smile. Her dog ears twitching slightly. "You really are friends with everyone around here, aren't you, Auran?"

"Yep." The redhead nodded, pushing her thumbs between where the stem of the apple was and pulling it apart in half with a soft grunt. "Here ya go." She held out her left hand, offering the piece of apple to her.

She smiled some more, reaching out and taking it before taking a rather large bite. The apple crunching between her teeth as she chewed. "You're such an outgoing idiot." She mumbled with a soft chuckle.

"And your a little puppy dog who hasn't learned to bark yet! But give it time." She twirled her apple half between her fingers, twisting back around to face forward.

A little ways in front of them down the street, a Faunus girl around their age with messy white hair and hard scales on her arms pushed a dark skinned boy with a with a bag of candy back a little. As he stumbled, she snatched the bag, shoving him to the ground as hard as she could. "You think you can walk around with this and not expect to share? Huh? Did dear old mommy give you this for being a good boy today?" She drug her foot forward, sending dirt into his face and making him cough as he reached up and rubbed his eyes.

Scoffing, she turned around, strands of her white hair wrapping around her face from the breeze. "You didn't even put up a fight." She stared at the bag of candy for a moment, clutching it tight as she exhaled and lowered her arm. "Pathetic."

"Hey!" A voice called out behind her, making her glance back with raised eyes. Rushing to the boy's side, Auran slid down on her knees, scuffing up her shorts a bit. She pulled off her scarf, helping him clean out his eyes with her right hand as she held her apple in her left hand. She glared over a the white haired Faunus. "What's your problem?"

Rolling her eyes, she held out the bag of candy in a shrug. "It's not my fault he's not strong enough to take it back." She lowered her arms, cocking her head as she pointed towards the redhead. "Just what exactly are you going to do about it?"

Glaring at her for a moment, she squared her her jaw while puffing out her chest. After a moment, she sighed, looking away as she went back to helping the boy. "Nothing..." She quietly muttered.

Scoffing, she rolled her eyes before looking over at Keegan who stood a few steps away. "And what about you,huh?" She her shake her head no and look down, the white haired girl shook her own head as she turned around and started to walk off. "You're all pathetic. This is Vacuo. If you're not going to fight for what you want you shouldn't be here."

Watching her leave, Keegan let out a small sigh, letting her head fall a bit as her canine ears lowered. Walking up beside her sister and the boy, she crouched down. "Is he okay?" She asked, taking another bite of her apple half.

"He should be alright." Auran smiled, wrapping her scarf back around her neck. "You can see alright, can't you?"

He quickly nodded back, smiling wearily. "Thank you..."

"It's nothing." She smiled back with a nod, brushing her blood orange hair behind her ear. She glanced down at her apple half, slowly holding it out towards the boy. "Here. Since you lost your candy."

"You... sure?" He blinked a few times, glancing up at her.

"Positive." She nodded, handing it to him as she stood up, then held out her hand to help him up. "Now be careful next time. Some people around here are just rude."

As he walked off and the two sisters began to head home once again, Keegan chewed on her lip as her hands fiddled with each other. "Hey, Auran?"

"Yeah?" The older sister glanced down. "What's up?"

"In the two years I've known you, you're always the first person to rush to someone in need. But you never go and fight back against the person hurting them." She paused for a second, her brows furrowing. "Why is that?"

"Well, I guess," She reached behind her head, scratching it a bit. "I don't know. It's hard to explain. Here in Vacuo, people are always fighting. I've seen people get black eyes and bloody noses. I've seen people get shot... and I want to be able to help those people. I want to make it so someday no one is hurting like that. I know what it's like to hurt really bad and have no one able to help you. I hate it. You feel alone and helpless. And I don't want anyone else to feel that way. No one deserves that type of feeling. Especially the feeling of being alone. You know?"

The dark haired girl smiled a bit, shaking her head at her sister. "You know, you're crazy sometimes."

"Yeah. I know." She chuckled.

A few hours later, Keegan was laying on her back on her bed, tossing a bright green tennis ball into the air, just a few centimeters shy of the ceiling, and catching it with a soft thud as it came back down. She would inhale as she tossed it upward, exhaling in boredom as it fell back down. Beside her, a second bed. Hearing the door open, she quickly sat up, keeping the ball in her lap. "Is dinner done yet?" She asked.

"Not yet." Auran sighed, closing the door and leaning up against it. "Mom said dad told her that he was going to come home early from work and cook steaks himself, but he got tied up with a few things at Shade. But he'll get here real soon and start dinner then. Nice and juicy pink steak here I come." She licked her lips, rubbing her hands.

"Ew." She stuck out her tongue, shaking her head as her black hair tossed around. "You and dad are so weird. Meat should not look like that. It should be fully cooked."

"You're just a dweeb who wasn't born in Vacuo like mom." She rolled her eyes, jumping onto her bed and onto her side with a small sigh. "No one here in their right mind would ever eat meat that has no color to it."

Keegan simply shook her head more, glancing over. She was about to say something, then blinked and stopped. "Hey, Auran?"

"Yeah?" The redhead tilted her head back and looked over.

"Didn't you fall on your shorts and not your knees when you went down beside that boy? Your knees are all scraped up." She tilted her head, pointing at her sister's slightly bloody knees.

"Huh? Oh..." She stared for a moment, giving a small shrug before she quickly swung her legs off the ed and stood up. "Guess I didn't even notice. I'll be right back. You can stay here. I'm just going to go wash them up real quick, alright?"

"Mhmm." The darked haired girl nodded, laying back down with a heavy plop on her bed. After a while of laying in her bed in boredom again, she finally decided to get up, tossing her green ball onto her bed as she did so. "Auraaan, you're so slow." She mumbled to herself, opening the door.

After walking into the bathroom and finding no one, she decided to look elsewhere. As she came close to the living room, she could hear faint mumbling. But as she got closer and closer, the whispers slowly turned into what sounded like angry talking. She blinked a few times, slowly and quietly peering around the corner.

There, sitting on the couch was Auran. Her hands carefully placed on her lap as she kept her head lowered. Her blood orange hair wrapping around her face. In front of her, her mother stood. Her arm outstretched as if she was pointing to something for emphasis.

"I'm just saying..." The young girl kept her voice low. "If you leave marks my clothes can't hide, people will notice. Dad will notice."

"Well maybe if my daughter knew how to behave and not damage the clothes she wears, there wouldn't be a problem." Her mother snapped. "You had no reason or purpose to be involving yourself with someone else's issues and ruining your clothes. Do you know how much those shorts cost?" She placed her hands on her hips, glaring.

"No..." The redhead swallowed heavily. "But maybe if you actually worked and had a job like dad-" She was cut off, her head snapping to the side as her mother's hand slid across the side of her face. She closed her eyes, her jaw tightening as her hands balled up. If she didn't have her eyes closed, she would have been staring eye to eye with Keegan.

The dog Faunus stared for a few seconds, watching her sister remain still. She gulped, her breathing slightly shaky. What had just happened? She bit her lip, taking a few small and quiet steps back before running back to her room.

"Do you think I would ever degrade myself to work at one of these low life, criminalistic, barberic places? Bad enough you talked your father into bringing that animal back here to live with us." Her mother continued. "The only reason your father and I came back to this shithole was because he got a job at a Huntsmen Academy even though he isn't a Huntsman but because of his vast knowledge on Grimm."

Inhaling, she slowly opened her eyes, moving her head back down as she lowered her shoulders. "I'm... I'm sorry... but I'm telling you the truth... someone is going to find out... and I don't want that to happen... dad... dad really loves you... you make him happy... I don't want to see you two break up because of me..."

"Then no one better find out." She snarled back, her hand suddenly grabbing the red scarf around her daughter's neck and pulling her up roughly to her feet. She pulled her face to face, glaring as coldly as she could. Her breath washing across her face. "And you know exactly what will happen if someone does-"

This time, she was the one to be cut off, a tennis ball striking her square in the jaw. She stumbled back as Auran's eyes widened. She quickly glanced over, seeing Keegan with two other balls. "Leave her alone!" She shouted louder than she ever had before, throwing another at her mother, this one hitting her side.

As she threw the last one, her mother glared up, catching the green ball as she stood up straight. Slowly walking towards the younger girl, she dropped it, letting it bounce up and down on the floor. "Why you... why are you going to do about it?" She stepped closer, towering over her.

Growling, she clenched her jaw, balling up her fist as her canine ears pointed upward. "I'll make you leave her alone!" She let off a small scream, punching the woman in her chest.

She stumbled back a bit, shaking her head slightly before heavily growling. "You stupid brat..." She hissed, reaching over and grabbing the collar of her daughter's shirt. "Learn your place!" She jerked her down, her head crashing into the floor with a heavy thud.

Keegan let out a small whimper, tucking her knees into her chest as she brought her arms above her head trembling. Tears swelling up in her eyes.

Grinding her teeth, Auran was breathing heavily. Ignore her mother as well as the front door opening, she quickly rushed over and knelt beside her sister. "Hey, hey, are you okay?" She quietly asked, pushing her hair from her face. "Keegan?"

"Man, I'm gone for a few extra minutes and it looks like a tornado came through here." Blinking as he stepped inside the room, the girls' father took off his hat and glanced over at his wife. "What happened?"

Keegan slowly lifted her head up, one eye open as tears fell from it. She glared, slowly pushing herself up a little next to her sister. But before she or her mother could say anything, Auran spoke.

"Me and Keegan were messing around, dad." The older sister sighed, forcing her younger sister's head down a little. "Mom was getting the kitchen ready for you and I guess I was being a little to rough and Keegan hit her head. Mom rushed in here immediately. I'm sorry..."

"Aw, don't worry. Accidents happen. You just go make sure your sister is alright. Remember what I told you about head injuries?" He crossed his arms, seeing his eldest daughter nod. "Good. Take her back to your room. I'll go and get dinner started. If you need any help or something bad happens, you come get me or your mom, alright?"

"Of course, dad." She smiled, standing up while still holding her sister close. She eyed her mother for a moment, quietly exhaling as she left.

"Kids will be kids, huh honey." Their mother smiled, her tone soft as she wrapped her arms around her husband.

Smiling, he gently held her hands in his, glancing back at her. "Kids will always be kids and roughhouse. And adults will always be adults and roughhouse." He chuckled softly, kissing her on the forehead.

A few minutes later, the two girls were sitting on the edge of Auran's bed. The older girl letting her sister lean on her as she held a bag of frozen peas on her head where a small bump was. As her sniffling died down a bit, she slowly removed the source of cold and set it down before rubbing her shoulder. "You don't feel dizzy, do you?" She quietly asked.

"I feel angry..." Keegan pouted slightly, shifting around. "You... could have told dad what she was doing... she would have stopped..."

"No... she wouldn't." She sighed softly, looking down as her hair wrapped around her face. "Dad would have broken up with her. And left. And she makes him really happy. He would lose so much happiness because of me. And it doesn't happen often. Only when I do something she doesn't like. She gets upset. It's how she expresses herself. You just need to stay out of it."

"It's wrong..." The younger girl sniffed, looking up. "You're always walking around taking care of people. Who's going to take care of you? Who's going to protect you from her?"

There was a small pause before the redhead gave a small shrug. "Who's going to protect everyone else out in the world that's getting hurt?"

Again, another pause in their conversation. "What if I will?" Keegan spoke up, rubbing her eyes a little as she sat up. "I'll... I'll fight for and protect people who can't themselves. Like you from her. And... and if the do get hurt, you'll take care of them. Like... like when I stop her from hurting you next time. You can do this again."

"I won't let her touch you again." Auran's voice rose a bit before she looked down. "I... I don't know how but I won't. This isn't your problem. I won't let her hurt you."

"It's OUR problem." She corrected, slowly wrapping her arms around her with a sniff. She was quiet for a moment, thinking of all that she blindly missed the past two years. All the signs she could have spotted. Or for how many years this had been happening. She held onto her sister tighter, closing her eyes. "I know you're afraid to hurt people, but I'm not now. I don't remember my parents, so you were the first person to be nice to me that day. I don't want to see you hurt. So I'll protect you. I'll protect anyone who can't themselves from now on."

The older sister blinked a few times, glancing down at her little sister before smiling and hugging her back. "Thanks, Keegan. I guess you've finally learned to bark." She softly exhaled. "And I'll make sure I take care of you when something hurts too. I'll take care of anyone who's hurting." She gently rubbed her shoulder. "I promise."

Back in the present, Officer Keegan was waving her arm around. "And then about a year later dad ended up finding out and left that old controlling hag with the two of us. It's the only time in my entire life that I remember seeing Auran hit someone. Thing is, dad wasn't mad at all. I mean, he was upset that his daughters were getting hurt, but he wasn't mad about leaving her. He was pleased actually. And seemed happier than ever when we got our own place. Part of me hopes she's dead in a ditch somewhere, but I probably shouldn't say that. Being a cop and all."

"That's why you're so overprotective, isn't it?" Cheyenne tilted her head. "That's why you were so hesitant to work with us. You didn't want to see any of us get hurt under your watch."

"Mhmm." The dark haired woman nodded, taking a sip of her coffee.

"That still doesn't explain why you're a police officer with a semblance!" Elise shouted slightly, waving her arms around.

She stared at her, her canine ear twitching before she sighed and set her cup down. "We promised we would stick together. And while she was studying to be a paramedic, I was developing a semblance. Which I didn't want or need if I was going to work side by side with her. So I kinda ignored it and let it grow into whatever it is now and just went of to the police academy." She shrugged. "Though I did end up leaving Vacuo eventually and coming here for my last few years. Thought some bigger city teaching would be nice. And I've been here since."

"I think you're really drunk." Kris blurted suddenly. "I don't like this you. I hate it when adults get all drunk and personal when you ask one stupid question."

"I will kick all four of you out of my house." The dog Faunus glared.

Seeing her friends glare back at her, the short redhead waved her hands in defense. "Okay, okay. Sorry. I'll be quiet." She looked away, rubbing her arm.

The deer Faunus sighed, rolling her eyes as she looked back at the officer. "Kris' mother is a jerk too. She's just... I guess making rude comments is how she copes when she's reminded about it."

"Shut up." The younger girl snapped back quickly.

"See?" She motioned her hands to her.

Nodding, Keegan sighed softly and exhaled. "That's understandable." She grabbed her cup, slowly standing up with a soft groan as she pushed her chair in. "You three, try not to burn my house down. I'm going to go take a long hot bath."

"Hey could I make dinner?" Elise grinned a little while holding up her finger and leaning to the side. "Papa and mama taught me really well. Ask anybody here."

"Yeah, sure. Whatever." The dark haired woman waved her hand as she stepped away. "Just make sure any meat is well done. I don't care."

"Uncultured swine." The farm girl mumbled under her breath, pouting a little as she watched her leave.

Meanwhile, a while before, as the group of three girls were sitting and listening to Keegan's story from long ago, Dino squatted down in front of Kagami who was laying on the couch slowly shifting around. He tilted his head, staring at her with confused and puzzled eyes before he reached up, poking at her cheek.

To which the jadette quietly groaned, pushing herself deeper into the couch cushions while pulling her blanket over her shoulders. "Please don't..." She mumbled, keeping her eyes shut.

He stared a bit more, his tail slowly moving before he smiled brightly, jumping up onto his feet as he hurried away. A few minutes later, he came scurrying back to the weakened girl. He let out a tiny grunt, holding out his arms with a grin. In his hands was a small brown teddy bear with stitching over its right side. He quickly pushed it up against her, tucking it underneath her.

Kagami groaned back, shifting around before rolling over and facing the back of the couch. "Listen... stop... alright...?" She quietly whispered.

The young Faunus boy's brow furrowed, his joyful expression fading away slightly. He glanced around, looking at her for a moment before rushing off again. After a while, he came back with another blanket. This one a dark olive drab and made off wool. He bit his lip, tip toeing as he slowly laid the blanket across her. He then stepped back, his eyebrows raising as he questioned his actions. Only hearing the jadette groan and move around again, he let out a huff of air, his head dropping slightly as he looked a the floor. His shoulders lowering as his tail went still. After standing in silence for a little, his head suddenly perked up as he half smiled.

This time, once he left he was gone for much longer before. Kagami almost found herself asleep before feeling her shoulder being poked at. She took a deep breath, exhaling heavily as she rolled back over to face the young boy. "Yeah...?" She asked, her eyes half open.

Smiling with his hands behind his back, Dino gave a nod, moving his arms in front of himself. In his hands was a small steaming bowl of instant miso soup and a spoon. He smiled more at her, sitting down carefully while setting the bowl in is lap. Holding the spoon as level as he could, he got a small spoonful, holding it up to her.

Kagami blinked several times, staring at him blankly before rolling her eyes with a soft smile. Slowly, she wrapped the second blanket tighter around her while moving her arms around the stuffed bear. "Thanks..." She muttered, slowly opening her mouth.


End file.
